Fanatics and Thieves
by Astraldust
Summary: John has a bad feeling and pays the price when he ignores it. Friendship fic. Shep.whumping.
1. A Bad Feeling About This

**Summary:** John has a bad feeling and pays the price when he ignores it. Friendship fic. Shep whumping.

The story is a sequel to 'For The Love of a Friend', but you don't have to read it to understand what's going on.

**Spoiler:- **None. Takes place in season 2 sometime after Epiphany.

**Pairing:- **A hint of Sparky. Team friendship. No slash

**Rating: -T **Language and physical abuse

**Disclaimer: - **I don't own Stargate Atlantis or its super characters.

Sorry, no Beta so the mistakes are all mine.

Fanatics and Thieves

Part 1 – A Bad Feeling About This

Wearily heading towards his quarters, John Sheppard moved around the last corner and sighed gratefully as his sanctuary finally came in sight.

Picking up speed, John nearly made it, but at the last second a slightly out of breath Dr. Rodney McKay blocked his way. Sheppard couldn't keep the frustration and annoyance from his countenance as he groaned. "What is it now, Rodney?"

McKay chose to ignore John's tone as he responded in his usual bubbly voice at finding something exciting to report. "We've finally located the planet where Dr. Tyrell and her team originated from."

"Dr. Who?" Sheppard questioned.

Rodney wanted to make some bad joke about the British sci-fi program but could see that the Colonel really wasn't in the mood. In fact, the man looked ready to drop. "No not Dr. Who, I said Dr. Lena Tyrell the scientist who discovered the ancient lab and ZPM on Dalenia 500 years ago. You know, the one who turned it into a religion to protect the people. Surely you haven't forgotten already?"

"Of course not, how could I forget something that almost got me killed?" John answered. "Not that that's anything unusual these days."

Rodney recoiled at John despondency, as it was so uncharacteristic for him. Although, he probably had every right to be as the last year or so had been hell for Sheppard. In fact, for all of them, but John had taken the brunt. Shot at numerous times, a zillion stun blasts, a bug sucking on him and then nearly turning into one, thousands of Wraith ready to make him dinner, captured, drugged_ - no that was me_ - Rodney thought. Gassed, body stealing, nukes, viruses, super bugs, ancient devises, too much sun, Caldwell wanting his job, the list just went on and on. However, all Rodney found to say was. "Hey, that doesn't sound like the Sheppard I know. What have you done to him?"

"He's right here, Rodney, and he's ready to go ballistic if you don't let him get some sleep. We'll deal with this matter tomorrow," said John, as he blearily looked at his watch. "No correction, make that today. Do you know what time it is?"

"Err…nope," admitted Rodney.

"It's 2.00 in the morning and if I'm lucky, I may get five hours in before the next crisis," Holding up his finger to silence his friend, John continued, "So if you don't mind, Rodney, we'll talk about this later." With that, John did a quick sidestep and dashed into his room, leaving Rodney staring at an empty space.

-SGA-

As it so happened, later turned out to be four days as another crisis did occur requiring everyone's attention, but finally McKay had Sheppard and Weir's attention long enough to send through a MALP to PX5-776.

"We're getting telemetry now." The technician announced as all eyes turned towards the monitors.

The grainy image that burst into life showed a rough terrain covered in low bush like plants and the odd spindly tree. It reminded Elizabeth a little of Greece or Southern Italy, but there the resemblance ended when the MALP panned the horizon to show the skyline of a large modern city, which could have been anywhere in North America.

McKay nearly jumped for joy. "At long last something that looks like a civilization."

"Don't get over excited yet, McKay." Sheppard cautioned as he stared closer at the image. The imagery looked all right but he wished the gate had been a little closer to the city. "Are the readings coming back OK?"

"Err…yes, sir. Atmosphere normal, slight pollutants, radiation levels acceptable, low energy readings, temperature a comfortable 25 degrees Celsius and the sun is shining."

"Sounds perfect," McKay enthused, "So when do we go?"

Elizabeth looked to Sheppard as he turned away from the screen. She noted that he still looked fatigued, as he had done for a while now. "John?"

"Couldn't we give this to another team, maybe Lorne's?" he suggested. Then John saw the look on of despondency on Rodney's face and relented. "Okay…okay, we'll go but for the record…I have a very bad feeling about this."

McKay looked at him sourly. "What? Have you suddenly got the Force and become Jedi Sheppard or something?"

"Of course not, I can't really explain it, call it a gut feeling or whatever but something seems off."

Elizabeth looked at him, worried because he hadn't even joked with Rodney concerning the Jedi comment. "John if you're not feeling up to it, you can do this some other time," she said ignoring Rodney's look of utter disappointment.

John saw the look. "No…I'm good," he answered a little too quickly for Weir's liking.

Weir looked uncertain. "If you're sure?"

"Yep…come on, McKay, let's get the team together, and explore your planet."

"It's not my planet!" McKay shouted at John's retreating form. "What's with him?" he muttered to Elizabeth.

"I don't know. Overworked and underpaid, just like the rest of us." Elizabeth answered, although deep down, she knew John's problems ran far deeper than that. He'd been stressed out of late with one too many missions gone sour and was in desperate need of a vacation or even a break. She pledged that after this mission, she would force him to take some R & R even if it was only to the mainland.

-SGA-

They'd shut the gate down while the team prepared for the mission and it wasn't reactivated until an hour later when the four members of SGA-1 were finally ready to go through.

Rodney moaned and groaned about the length of time Sheppard had taken. Normally, it was the other way round but the Colonel's reluctance had made him extra cautious as he stopped yet again to check their equipment and supplies.

"Are we going already or not, Sheppard?"

"Keep your pants on, McKay, we're ready."

Turning to Elizabeth, John gave her his usual wave but his smile was absent. She crossed her arms and nodded as she watched them enter the event horizon. A sudden shiver ran up her spine, John's bad feeling was starting to rub off on her as she gave her usual message. "Be safe."

-SGA-

They emerged in their usual order with Sheppard in the lead. "Okay folks, look sharp, and let's go find ourselves some friendly…" He didn't finish his sentence. "Oh, shit…someone's stolen the MALP."

Rodney and others joined him as John stood looking at the arid ground with its deep tracks clearly indicating where the MALP had been dragged away. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard to find if they dragged it all the way to their hidey hole." McKay observed just as John's radio came alive with Elizabeth's worried voice.

Sheppard hit the receive button. "John we're not getting any telemetry. Is everything okay?"

Hitting send, John replied. "Nope. Someone's hijacked our MALP, but they've left us a trail that even McKay can follow. So I guess we'll be meeting the criminal element of this planet quicker than I'd like."

"Don't do anything rash." Weir warned. "It's just a machine, John. It can be replaced but you and others can't."

"Hey, do you know how much those things cost?" Rodney yelled into John's radio. "If I'm not mistaken its 85,000 dollars! "

"I'm fully aware of that, Dr. McKay. Leave me to deal with the auditors." Weir advised.

Sheppard sighed and held his radio high as McKay tried to grab it from him. Turning quickly from his friend, he answered. "Don't worry, Elizabeth, we'll get it back. Sheppard out."

McKay stood scowling as Sheppard tucked his radio back into his vest and headed off to join Teyla and Ronon as they continued to search the surrounding area for any other clues. "Anything?" he asked as he reached them.

"No, the trail leads down that slope over there, as do many footprints." Teyla pointed out.

Sheppard sighed again as Rodney joined them. "Figures. Those things are darn heavy, it would take quite a few folks to pull it along." Resigned, he continued. "Okay, let's go get our property back."

"Err…wouldn't it be better to head for the city first?" Rodney suggested. "Maybe they have a police force willing to help us."

"Yeah, that's assuming they're friendly but if they aren't…" John stopped to reconsider for a moment. "Okay, we'll do a little recon first and see what we're up against."

Everyone nodded and clutching weapons close, they headed off down the slope and continued to follow the trail for some kilometers until suddenly, it ended.

"Oh crap! I don't believe it!" Sheppard cried echoing everyone's disbelief as he surveyed the rather ill repaired highway before him. A kind of concrete covered the surface but it was full of potholes, weeds, and cracks from years of neglect. "Well, it looks like they've loaded our MALP onto some kind of vehicle and that's certainly going to make it more difficult to track."

McKay looked slightly puffed out already. "Err…can we go to the city now? Not much point in following a road to god-only-knows where, and which direction would we take? Left or right?"

Ronon using his tracking and directional sense quickly answered. "By my reckoning, if we turn right it should take us towards to city anyway and that's probably where they took our MALP."

"Yes, yes, good thinking, Mr. Holmes. So are you coming or not?" McKay asked Sheppard as he started out along the road. Leaving Ronon totally baffled as to why McKay had called him by that name.

"Wait up a minute, Rodney!" John shouted after him. "Walking along the road doesn't exactly give us much cover."

McKay pointed to the sparsely covered sandy ground. "Hello, do you see much cover off the road?"

Resigned, John pulled along side the eager scientist. "Okay…I'll give you that but why are you in such a hurry anyway?"

"Because Colonel - down in the dumps - I've got a good feeling that I'll find equals at long last instead of the usual peasant farmers we encounter."

"I am not down in the dumps!" declared John, loudly. "But I've still got a bad feeling about this so stay sharp. And, I sure hope you're right, Rodney, 'cause we could do with better luck than we've had so far." John muttered as he took up the lead.

Eleven kilometers or so later, McKay nearly plowed into John's back when the Colonel suddenly stopped dead in his tracks and gasped. Looking around the taller but much slimmer man, Rodney let out a gasp of his own. Before them lay the panorama of the city but it wasn't what he'd expected. Although no one had voiced it up until now, it looked increasingly like the civilization Rodney had hoped to find no longer existed. The whole time they'd been walking not one vehicle had passed them by and the roadway had gone from bad too worse as potholes turned into massive gapping holes.

Now the conclusive evidence stood before him and Rodney felt like crying as he surveyed the ruins of what must have been a lovely city at one time.

About a kilometer away, the perimeter of the ruined suburbs began with the rubble and remains of low-lying houses. "Do you think it is wise to walk through those areas?" Teyla cautioned.

"Probably not," John answered her, "But it's either that or head back and get a jumper. That's if it's still worth even continuing?"

McKay came out of his shocked dismay and looked at his scanner. "It's worth it. I'm picking up some energy readings and life signs," he reported. "I told you to bring a jumper in the first place but oh no, Colonel - I know better - said, no way."

"I gave you my reasons, McKay, how was I to know that the city wasn't what it appeared to be? How many live signs have you got anyway?" Sheppard asked.

Rodney looked intently at the scanner. "In this immediate area about twenty or so but…I have a feeling that there are more hidden somewhere."

"All right, let's hope they're friendly and unarmed," Sheppard murmured, but every instinct told him that this was somehow a big mistake, so he had to ask, "Or would you prefer going back and coming another day with a jumper?"

Ronon gave his answer. "We can easily take on twenty even armed."

Teyla looked resigned and gave her opinion. "We have come this far, it seems a waste to go back now."

"Yes, yes, that's my opinion too." McKay answered. "Besides they may welcome us with open arms."

"Yeah and I'm the King of Atlantis." John muttered as he moved off clutching his P90.

TBC

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	2. Not The King of Atlantis

Part 2 - Not The King of Atlantis

Thirty minutes later, John wished he'd gone by his instincts as he and the others stood facing an angry mob.

At first, they had gone unmolested as they trekked closer the city center. That was until Ronon had come across their missing MALP, still strapped to a low and dilapidated flat bed vehicle. In typical Ronon style, he'd attempted to reclaim it even though the others had warned him against it. Predictably, the minute he had touched the ropes securing their machine they found themselves surrounded by a group of mean looking men, all armed with a variety of bullet guns.

Sheppard held up his hand. "Okay, people, let's try to talk this through. I'm Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard and these folks are my team. We're here as peaceful explorers and mean you no harm, but that machine over there is ours and we'd like it back," he claimed, pointing to the MALP.

"And if we don't want to give it back!" The shout came from a rough looking man and obvious leader who had been ogling Teyla in a way that the Atlantis men didn't like at all.

"Well, then you may find out the hard way that our weapons pack one hell of a punch." John answered him.

Some of the ruffians laughed aloud at that. Their leader sneered. "Aren't you a little out numbered, mister?"

Answering before Sheppard could, Ronon growled. "That may be the case but do you want to die today?"

"Do you?" The man mocked as he raised his weapon to fire but before he could complete the maneuver, Ronon shot him in the chest sending his fat body flying backwards into an old broken down lean-to, which promptly collapsed on top of him. Then all hell broke loose as gunfire rained between the opposing parties.

Sheppard and McKay rapidly dived behind some broken down masonry, desperate to find cover, while Teyla and Ronon found places of their own.

For several minutes, they exchanged fire and between them, the Atlantis team managed to bring down a number of the opposition but more ruffians joined their colleagues by the minute.

It soon became apparent that the team really were hopelessly outnumbered and out gunned. Then just as the situation looked impossible, they heard a siren that sounded vaguely like an approaching police vehicle.

McKay looked up from his crouched position long enough to see what appeared to be a flying car coming into land near their position. "Cavalry's arrived. I just hope they're friendlier than this lot."

"Yeah, me too," John muttered as he got off another shot.

The minute the vehicle touched the ground, the thugs were off and running, leaving the precious MALP and its owners behind.

Several uniformed officials moved out of the vehicle with their guns raised. Sheppard and the others decided not to challenge them as they left the cover of their shelter. Carefully lowering his weapon, John introduced himself and his team, and then explained the situation, telling them about their stolen item. However, all the men did was laugh.

One of the men stepped forward, obviously their leader and said. "You really are new to this world aren't you, Colonel Sheppard. It's a good job we happened to be on patrol and saw your difficulty. Those gangs would sell their mothers if they could make a profit and that machine of yours could have bought them quite a yield. That's why they fought you for it even before they really knew what it was. We will make sure it is stored in a safe place until you are ready leave. In the mean time, you are our most welcome guests. Please come with us to the city and meet our glorious leader."

"Oh, at long last," McKay answered for them. "And…err…thank you for saving our necks." Ronon and Teyla exchanged an amused look while Sheppard looked concerned.

"You are most welcome." The officer replied as he led them to the waiting vehicle.

-SGA-

They flew for about forty minutes passing the empty lifeless shells of once magnificent buildings. McKay had loads of questions to ask but refrained from doing so until they had met this illustrious leader. Ronon and Teyla pointed out several things along the way but Sheppard remained unusually quiet.

Eventually the air car started to descend and everyone including John looked on in amazement as a completely intact and positively huge dome structure came into view. Its glass and steel glistening in the sunlight like the surface of a huge diamond.

"Wow. Who would have thought something like this would have survived whatever disaster hit this city." John commented.

The officer spoke from his place up front. "It is well protected, Colonel, but all will be explained eventually."

The man said no more as the pilot brought the air vehicle into land on an impressive looking plaza made of some kind of marble, patterned in a stunning fashion.

Alighting from the vehicle, the officer led them through a grand entryway into the dome where several other officials subjected them to some kind of scan and security check. Surprisingly they allowed them to keep their weapons. From there, the chief lead the team along imposing passageways, up wide and sweeping stairwells until they reached two truly huge wooden double doors.

John noted that it was all very spectacular and plush but somehow - lifeless. For a building so huge and magnificent, there were very few people about. He stood between Teyla and McKay wondering what was coming next as the officer knocked and opened the doors to reveal a truly luxurious living room beyond. It actually made them all feel a little scruffy as the man invited them in.

Walking carefully on expensive looking carpet, the four explorers ended up into a surprisingly small but lavish office. Teyla, Ronon, and Sheppard looked around but made no comments, while Rodney couldn't stop talking. "Well, I think this just has to be the most civilized place we've seen outside of Atl…our own place. I'm picking up various energy signals but nothing as powerful as a ZPM, not yet at any rate. I don't think any of this was designed or constructed by, you-know-who, and I've seen no indication of writing or any other script to date."

"They must have language, McKay." Sheppard pointed out. "And don't you think this place is a little over the top?"

They all nodded just as the door opened to admit a rather striking auburn haired woman probably in her mid-thirties. She smiled warmly at them but her eyes immediately zeroed in on John. "Welcome to Capella and Sanjava Dome. I'm Dr. Lena Tyrell and you are?"

Rodney and John felt their jaws drop as they looked at each other. Even the usually composed Teyla looked stunned. Ronon didn't seem at all concerned.

Coming out of his astonishment, Sheppard replied. "I'm Lieutenant Colonel John Sheppard." Pointing to the still dazed scientist, he continued. "This is Dr. Rodney McKay. The big guy is Ronon Dex and our lovely lady is Teyla Emmagan. We're pleased to meet you, Dr. Tyrell."

"No, the pleasure is all mine." The woman purred looking solely at John. "Its not every day such a handsome stranger comes our way."

This statement bought McKay out of his shock thinking – oh, here we go again - the Kirk thing. He half-expected to see Sheppard drooling over the woman however, John was looking slightly perturbed. In fact, the Colonel seemed anxious to pass her attention elsewhere. "Err…Dr. McKay here is an expert on all things technical and the like, I'm sure he'll answer any questions you may have and he's just dying to know all about you and your home."

The woman wasn't having any of it. "I'm sure he can, John, but you're the one I'm interested in, so you can answer my questions."

"I don't know anything, I'm just a soldier. He's the scientist." Sheppard answered rather quickly pointing to McKay once again. Then acting uninterested, he backed away to stand near Teyla.

Rodney decided to intervene. "Err…yes, the Colonel is absolutely right, I've got quite a few questions to ask you, but first off I take it you must be a descendant of Dr. Lena Tyrell? The scientist who spent so many years exploring other planets including the one we know of - Dalenia."

"You know about Dalenia? The woman asked.

"Yes, we do but you haven't answered my question."

The woman looked at Rodney with something bordering on irritation. "I'm not a descendant of Dr. Tyrell, I am Dr. Lena Tyrell, and I did spend five years of my life stuck on that dreadfully primitive and highly religious planet," she answered with an air of revulsion.

McKay stood in shocked silence for once as Sheppard, his reservations forgotten, asked. "How the hell did you manage to live so long? I'm mean that was hundreds of years ago and we we're under the impression that you helped those poor people out of the goodness of your heart?"

Tyrell seemed please to have Sheppard's attention again, so she answered solely for him. "Oh…I did, didn't I? As you said, it was hundreds of years ago and one tends to forget the small details along the way. As to why I'm still alive…well, I couldn't very well allow myself to - **die** - could I?" she said with disdain. "Having such a brilliant mind, I was needed by my people to protect them from the Wraith and other foes, so I devised a way to duplicate myself."

Everyone looked perplexed until Rodney put in. "You mean as in cloning?"

"Cloning?" Tyrell questioned. Then it dawned on her what McKay meant. "My goodness no, not exactly…cloning is only a way to reproduce copies of the original without the memories intact. No, my method is to make an exact copy of the donor, complete with memory imprinting and the like. I have hundreds of copies of myself, which remain in stasis until required. Each one has a perfect imprint of all my previous memories. When my current body grows old, I simply take one of my copies imprint it with my additional memories and accumulated knowledge, and I live on in a new younger form until we repeat the process. Prefect, just prefect, don't you think?"

Nobody wanted to answer her. The rambling explanation baffled Ronon and Teyla, John understood most of what she was getting at, but McKay knew exactly what she meant. "So you're trying to tell us that you live on and on using duplicates of yourself with all your knowledge for hundreds of years. But even in stasis the bodies must slowly be deteriorating?"

"True, however I was still young and as you can see very beautiful when the copies were made. The deterioration is very slow, besides when the copies are no longer usable, I'll just simply make some more."

Rodney exchanged a sickened look with the team and John asked the next question. "Okay…would you like to explain what happened to the city and why the only other people we've seen, apart from your security forces, live in poverty and have resorted to crime?"

Tyrell didn't take his defensive tone as an insult. Her eyes still stayed on him as she replied. "I have lived a long time, John, and although I tried to help the people throughout the years they didn't always appreciate my efforts. The city was a thriving and prosperous place until about two hundred years ago. Then an element grew from within and some citizens no longer abided by my…the laws, as they rioted and made trouble. They stole from lawful people and in the end came the wars that destroyed much of the city. I was powerless against them, so I retreated and left them to live in squalor if that is what they wanted."

Sheppard appeared thoughtful, he looked to McKay hoping that the scientist would take over the questioning but Rodney stayed unusually quiet forcing Sheppard to say more. "I don't think we're on first name terms Dr. Tyrell, so please stick to Colonel Sheppard. I take it many of the citizens do live here in…err…Sanjava Dome?"

Even though Sheppard was trying his hardest to put her off, she still didn't take the hint. "Just call it Sanjava, John, and you must understand that only the most honest and loyal people serve me as well as several truly brilliant scientists. We're totally self-contained within Sanjava and the two other domes that adjoined it. In those, we grow or recycle all our needs. Even the air we breathe is purified as well as the water."

"Utopia." John muttered. He desperately wanted out as the woman was making him feel more and more ill at ease but just as he was about to suggest leaving, McKay came up with another question.

"Ah…I'm sure Colonel Sheppard would be interesting in this," McKay stated using John's correct title. "So could you please tell us how you manage to keep the Wraith away?"

_Good one, McKay_, John thought, waiting for her answer. Tyrell looked at Rodney as if he was the dimmest person in the galaxy. "That's simple as my ancestors devised a very effective defense system, which still operates today. I am the only one with the true knowledge of its function, but I'll tell you this, the minute a hive ship is detected a planet wide shield goes into operation preventing them from entering the atmosphere by destroying them. Likewise, should they try to come through the gate a missile system comes into operation destroying those ships. We haven't seen a Wraith attack for hundreds of years even though reports indicate that they have newly awakened. I believe them to be highly intelligent and they must keep some form of database telling them which planets to avoid. Capella must be top of their list." She stopped to look at John again. "Tell me, where do you come from?"

"A long way off and of no interest to you," John simply answered.

"Oh…come now there's no need to take that tone – John, I'm only interested in meeting people who seem to be little more intelligent than the average humans I've meet over the years. Dr. McKay obviously has a great knowledge of science and he comes from the same world as you do, John, but the other two are natives of different worlds."

"Oh, that's very observant of you," Rodney put in but John warned him not to say more so instead, McKay asked. "Do you have any spare ZPM's floating around?"

For the first time the woman laughed but it, left John feeling like someone had churned his nerves. "Oh my, Doctor McKay, you certainly come straight to the point, don't you? However, the answer is, **no**."

Sheppard saw his opportunity. "In that case, there's nothing more keeping us here. It's been a pleasure to meet you, Dr. Tyrell, but it's time to go home."

TBC

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	3. Morning Has Broken

Part 3 – Morning Has Broken

John gathered up the others with a look. However, before he'd even taken a step, the woman quietly stated. "It's not safe to leave now, Colonel."

"What do you mean not safe?"

"Its night outside and I'm afraid no one ventures out after dark, it just isn't safe even with using a flier. Besides my pilots are all off duty by now and at home with their families. You wouldn't want to disturb them would you?" asked Tyrell, giving him a predatory smile.

Sheppard wanted to scream, shout, and get the hell out of this sterile dome and away from the damn crazy woman. Nevertheless, logic told him they stood no change of negotiating the deserted city at night, not with gangs and other unknown nastiest. He tried to calm his inner turmoil as he answered. "I guess we don't have much choice then, do we, but as soon as it's light we're out of here."

"Of course, Colonel, I wouldn't want you to feel uncomfortable about staying with us. Although, I can't see what your problem is?" she declared. For a second or two, she muttered, "Oh, well, well," as if deciding which cause of action to take before continuing. "In a minute, I'll have someone take you to our guestrooms and when you're settled in, a meal will be bought to you. Then first thing tomorrow, I'll arrange for a flier to take you back to the gate and a transport to bring your machine."

Everyone thanked her except John. He knew he was being rude but he really didn't care. With a sigh of relief, he watched the woman leave the room.

Teyla went over to rest her hand on Sheppard's arm and said. "You certainly do not like her do you, Colonel?"

Smiling down at the lovely Athosian, he answered. "Not one bit, that woman has more screws lose then…"

"Yes, yes, I know what you're going say," Rodney interrupted, "but I'm intrigued about the whole set-up here. I mean a working anti Wraith devise, a human copy machine, her brainpower living on and on, a perfect biosphere environment and…"

"Don't forget the wars." John put in.

"Okay, I was just coming to that, and the wars. No, no, that's not what I wanted to say, but you're right, she's nuttier than my sister's fruit cake."

For the first time since arriving in Sanjava, John laughed and clapped Rodney on the shoulder. "All very interesting, but like I said before, we're out of here as soon as it's light."

Everyone hastily agreed with him.

-SGA-

Three hours later, John waited patiently for the morning to arrive in the solitude of his own room. Determined not to sleep, he lay fully clothed propped up by several pillows on top of a huge and opulent bed. His P90 rested across his stomach, not exactly comfortable but that was the idea. The other members of his team each had their own rooms and like him, they had all agreed not to sleep.

The guest rooms were located somewhere deep within the dome, meaning none of them had a window to the outside so there was no telling when it would be light. The servant who was assigned to them had promised to let them know the minute the sun was up.

Earlier they'd had a truly magnificent buffet but both Ronon and John had refrained from eating any of it. Teyla had eaten a little but only the fruit she deemed safe. Rodney as usual let his eyes dictate his stomach and had tucked in heartily as the others had eaten their MREs. Rodney seemed to be fine afterwards and told them they'd missed a treat. Ronon had given him a sour look and had commented that he wouldn't be the one to carry him back if he got sick.

With these thoughts and others things whirling in his mind, Sheppard tried to keep his eyes from drooping but it was becoming more and more of a problem as a lethargic fog seemed to penetrate his brain. He didn't realize that the lights had dimmed somewhat as he eventually lost the battle and drifted off to sleep.

-SGA-

He woke with a start hours later not knowing who he was or where he was for a minute or two. Then the fog cleared as he slowly sat up to survey his surrounding. Everything seemed the same as he recalled, opulent bed, huge guestroom, fully clothed, weapons ready and team in near-by rooms or so he hoped. Now John was definitely ready to go, so jumping off the bed, he went to the bathroom to take care of things and then went in search of his teammates.

The timing must have been just right because as he left his room the servant approached. "Ah…Colonel Sheppard, I was just coming to wake you. It is morning and your transport is ready. Would you like some breakfast before leaving?"

John tried to rake his brain as to whether that was a good idea or not. The answer came slowly. _I must still be half-asleep,_ he thought. "Err…a drink and maybe some fruit will do," he answered.

"Yes, of course. If you would like to wait in the dining area, I'll serve it as soon as possible after I've woken up your companions."

"There's no need for that." Ronon's deep voice growled as he emerged from his room.

A few minutes later, Teyla came out of her room looking surprisingly refreshed. Last of all, Rodney emerged from his room looking sleepy and bedraggled.

"I thought we agreed not to sleep, Dr. McKay?" Teyla accused him.

Rodney yawned guiltily. "Sorry, but that bed was so comfortable even though it wasn't anything like my prescription mattress back in Atl…"

"Dr. McKay!" Teyla warned.

"Oops…sorry too early in the morning," Rodney replied sheepishly. "Anyway, I'm betting I'm not the only one who went to sleep?"

"Well, I didn't," Ronon, rumbled.

"Neither did I." Teyla announced as they all turned to the unusually quiet Colonel.

Sheppard lied. "I didn't either."

Rodney replied with a rude sound as he headed for the dining room.

-SGA-

Two hours later, they finally arrived back at the stargate courtesy of the security forces, and as promised, the MALP was returned to them safe and sound.

McKay wasted no time in dialing Atlantis making sure that the address remained hidden from prying eyes. Sending through his IDC, the team prepared to go. Sheppard immediately stepped through without so much as a goodbye, which left McKay having to do it for him.

"I apologize for Colonel Sheppard's behavior," McKay began, "He's just anxious to get back home. Please thank Dr. Tyrell for us and thank you for helping us out yesterday and returning our machine."

"Do not concern yourself, Dr. McKay, we understand and you are most welcome." The chief officer replied.

Without further a do, Rodney started up the MALP and watched it go through before following the others into the wormhole. They didn't see the arrogant smirk on the chief's face.

-SGA-

As everyone reemerged into the gate room, they found that Sheppard had gone already. Elizabeth was waiting for them near the returned MALP. "I see everything turned out fine in the end?" she smiled.

"Apart from Sheppard," Ronon muttered, "He's in such a bad mood this morning and yesterday wasn't much better."

"He had rudeness down to a fine art and even rejected the attentions of an attractive woman." Rodney collaborated. "Where's Mr. Sunshine gone to anyway?"

"Caldwell confronted him the moment he came through. We have a crisis with Major Lorne's team on PX4-300. A group of angry natives is preventing them from getting back to the gate. At the moment, it's a stand off." Elizabeth told them. "John never gets a break does he, maybe that would explain his moody depressed behavior lately?"

The three SGA-1 members looked at each other and Teyla spoke up for them. "We did have a trying time on Capella and on the Colonel's advice we did not sleep last night. Now we have another crisis to deal with, but what about our compulsory medical and debriefing?"

"The debriefing can wait until later but the medical can't. So why don't you to go along to the infirmary and afterwards see if they need your help with the rescue mission. Hopefully, it won't be necessary as you do look a little tried, Teyla." Weir answered. "Oh, and I'll make sure that Sheppard joins you in the infirmary."

-SGA-

Dr. Beckett had just finished with the other team members when Sheppard finally walked in.

"Ah…there ya are, Colonel, I was just about to send out a search party." The Scottish doctor announced, rather loudly.

"I'm here aren't I, Dr. Beckett, so why don't we get this over and done with!" replied Sheppard, abruptly.

"Aye, okay. Why don't ya hop-up on the couch so you can get this over and done with?" Carson requested with an air of sarcasm, which was very unusual for him. As he started his examination by placing his stethoscope against the Colonel's chest, he asked. "I take it ya didn't get any sleep either last night?"

Sheppard lied again. "Not a wink."

"Aye, but ya seem to be doing just fine without it. How's the rescue mission going?" asked Carson, making conversion and with genuine concern for Lorne and his men.

"It shouldn't be a problem. In fact, while I'm sitting here having this useless medical others could have rescued Lorne's team by now."

"I don't think this examination is a useless exercise, Colonel. You of all people should know how important it is to be checked out after an off-world mission."

Carson shivered slightly as Sheppard stared at him with a cold aloofness that he'd never really noticed before. "Can I go now, doctor?" Sheppard requested.

"In a minute, I just want to take some blood."

Pulling away, Sheppard jumped down from the couch. "I really don't have time for that, doctor. You can take your sample when I've done my job." Saying no more, he marched out of the room leaving a very pissed off Beckett behind.

-SGA-

As he entered the briefing room, Sheppard's prediction that others may have already rescued Lorne and his team proved unfounded, as Caldwell, Elizabeth and his team members were still busy discussing the problem.

"Anything new?" asked Sheppard, as he sat himself down.

Caldwell answered for them. "No. It's still a stand off. We have to find a way to get past those people or our team will starve to death. As it is, they've probably got enough supplies to last a couple of days."

"How did it all start?" Teyla wanted to know. "I think…"

"That's not important!" John interrupted loudly. "We need to rescue them now!"

Teyla looked a little taken back by his abrupt and uncharacteristic attitude. Remaining calm, she said. "I only asked because it may help us understand their motives and help broker a diplomatic solution."

Sheppard looked at her sternly. "The only solution is to go in there with guns blazing and get them out! I just don't…"

"That's enough, John." Elizabeth stopped him. "Unfortunately, we have no idea how it all began but you're right, Teyla, there may very well be a simple solution if only we knew what their problem is.

Sheppard half stood up and leaning over the table, he glared. "I beg to differ, Dr. Weir. In my experience, the only language these primitives will understand is death at the business end of a P90."

All heads turned towards Sheppard in disbelief and Rodney spoke up first, angrily. "We're not dealing with Wraith here, Sheppard! Those are humans out there, and they may have a good reason for their behavior, which is more than can be said about you at the moment."

Holding up his hands, Sheppard conceded. "All right, we'll try the diplomatic way first but..."

Caldwell didn't let him finish. "So we're all agreed then, we'll send in a team to try and negotiate their release?"

"Okay, that's our job." John spoke up for the rest.

Elizabeth looked at him. "I don't think so, Colonel. The way you are at the moment, you'll probably start a war and get everyone killed."

Sheppard looked annoyed. "You don't trust me anymore, Dr. Weir?"

Elizabeth felt her eyes water. All the time she'd known John, he had never seemed so formal, so aloof. "I trust you but at the moment you seem…" She didn't know how to explain what she really felt.

Teyla interrupted. "We are wasting valuable time here. I will go and see if I can obtain their release."

"You're not going alone?" Ronon put in.

Caldwell answered for her. "We'll send a small contingent with Miss Emmagan. You can go with her, Mr. Dex, but only resort to violence if attacked."

"Oh, you let him go," John muttered, "Mr. shoot-first-ask-questions-later. Look, I promise to be on my best behavior and let Teyla do all the talking. They need me there if things go bad."

Elizabeth and Caldwell exchanged a look. They didn't like it but Sheppard was head of military operations. "All right, Lieutenant Colonel, but if you make one bad move, I'll throw the book at you." The senior officer promised.

"Oh, you'd love to do that wouldn't you…**Sir**? You've been on my back ever since I got promoted." John nearly shouted. "We're wasting time here! Let's get this mission over and done with." Saying no more, Sheppard got up and left, leaving a room full of astonishment.

"Okay, let's get the rest of the team together." Caldwell stated all business like. "If his behavior doesn't improve when he gets back I recommend…"

"A vacation," Elizabeth quickly suggested before turning to McKay. "Rodney, will you go and keep an eye on him."

"If I really have to," Rodney muttered.

"Do not worry, Dr. Weir, we will all keep an eye on him." Teyla assured. "I believe the stress of the last few months is beginning to show and he is very much in need of that vacation you mentioned."

Elizabeth nodded in agreement but Caldwell didn't seem convinced.

TBC

Please review!


	4. This Isn’t the Way It’s Supposed to Happ

Thanks for the great reviews. Warning of language in this chapter but I think it is appropriate under the circumstance.

Part 4 – This Isn't the Way It's Supposed to Happen

Fifteen minutes later, the small military contingent waited fully prepared in the gateroom as the SGA-1 team joined them.

"Okay folks, what's the status?" Sheppard requested as he adjusted his vest and P90.

"We've been in touch with Major Lorne again and the situation hasn't changed, sir. They're still holed up in the old ruins they found about akilometer from the gate and completely surrounded by about thirty or so angry natives armed with spears and knives." The comm. technical answered.

Rodney looked up towards Elizabeth as she stood on the balcony overlooking the gatewell. "Are you sure you wanted me to go? Those things sound kind of pointy to me?" he shouted up to her.

Before she could reply, Sheppard spoke up. "If you don't move your ass, McKay, you'll find out what's pointy when I stick my knife where…"

"Okay, okay," Rodney quickly replied, "I got the message, moving out." That certainly sounded a little more like the old Sheppard if only he hadn't looked like he meant it.

As the event horizon appeared, the rescue party went through each hoping that things wouldn't result in blood shed. Elizabeth watched them go with apprehension and became distressed when Sheppard failed to turn and wave as he usually did. She was going to have to have a serious talk with him when he got back.

-SGA-

Exiting the other side, the rescuers found themselves facing a pleasant looking planet complete with the usual grassy fields, leafy woods, and clear air. Moving out, they slowly made their way towards the trouble spot hoping that the natives wouldn't react badly at being approached from behind.

Eventually, they came upon the rear line of natives and Sheppard called a halt. At first, the highly tattooed, half-naked, dark skinned people didn't notice them until a youngster turned and gave a warning cry.

Teyla quickly reacted by laying down her weapon and producing a small blue cloth, which seemed to be a universal sign in the Pegasus galaxy for - I come in peace. The natives reacted by rattling their spears until the chieftain raised his hand and stepped forward.

Teyla was just about to join him but Sheppard pulled her back. "You trust that guy?" he asked.

Keeping her cool, Teyla replied. "As we agreed, I will talk to him, Colonel. Keep on the alert but do not raise your weapons unless things do not work out. However, I have a good feeling about this."

Sheppard let her go but kept a steely eye on the chieftain as Teyla walked carefully to meet him halfway. He watched in readiness as Teyla talked at great lengths with the wiry old man. At times, the chieftain gestured wildly with his hands pointing in the direction of the ruins until finally, he seemed to calm down.

Nodding her head, Teyla carefully stepped back to join Sheppard and the others. "Okay, he has agreed to let our people go as long as we never step foot on their planet again."

"Err…what was their problem anyway?" McKay asked.

"It seems that the ruins are holy and sacred to them. They did not take kindly to having people tramping all over them. At first, he wanted retribution in the form of a sacrifice. However, I've managed to talk him out of that by saying that you would not allow it without blood shed. I explained that our weapons could kill many."

"So much for your - don't touch anything without asking protocols - Sheppard." Rodney muttered.

"Lorne can answer to that one when we get them home." Sheppard growled at him. "Okay, let's go get them out of there."

Teyla stopped him with her hand. "I suggest that just you and I go, Colonel. Most of the team should stay here."

John looked down at her for a few seconds before setting his eyes on his men. "Okay, you heard her. Wait here until we get back and then we'll all calmly go back to the gate."

A chorus of - yes sirs - echoed as he moved off with Teyla in tow. As Sheppard passed the chieftain, he looked the man straight in the eye before continuing. He didn't see the look of distaste that crossed the old man's face.

Ten minutes later, Lorne and his team weary joined the others to start the long trek back to the gate. Teyla and Sheppard covered their six being careful as the chieftain and few of his people followed at a safe distance. Teyla assured Sheppard that everything was all right that they only wanted to make sure everyone went home.

Arriving at the gate, McKay dialed Atlantis and sent through his IDC, thankful that things had gone so well. Slowly the Atlanteans began to trickle into the event horizon until only Sheppard's team remained.

The gate was situated at the top of several stone steps and just as John was about to ascend the first step with Teyla, the chieftain approached them calling a soft goodbye to the Athosian. She turned to acknowledge him causing John to stop and turn around. In an instant, the old man pulled out a knife and stabbed Sheppard in the side.

The team looked on in shock, not believing their eyes as John clutched his middle and muttered, "The son of a bitch stabbed me," before staggering to lean heavily against the nearby DHD.

"Justice has been done." The chieftain called as he moved off to join his people.

Ronon raised his gun ready to take him down but McKay stayed his action. "That's not the answer. Come on, let's get Sheppard home."

"Yeah, but it's my answer," growled Ronon, his gun still firmly aimed at the chieftain's back. However, before taking any further action he looked towards Sheppard as if seeking approval from the Colonel, but the man was preoccupied with combating his pain and shock.

Teyla and Rodney went over to Sheppard and helped him walk towards the event horizon. John's feet faltered as he struggled to ascend the steps, so Teyla called angrily. "Ronon, the Colonel needs your help!"

Reluctantly, the Satedan lowered his gun and move to John's side to support the man home.

-SGA-

Elizabeth stood watching as the missing team and their rescuers came home. Her face lit up in a brilliant smile as she went down to greet Major Lorne and his men. Thankful to see that everyone was all right, she told them to go to the infirmary for the compulsory check up.

Expectantly, she waited for Sheppard and his team to come through, congratulations already on her lips but instead, she went white as a ghost when Rodney and Ronon emerged supporting a staggering John between them.

Teyla stepped around them and cried. "We need a medical team here! The Colonel was stabbed just as we were about to leave."

"Oh, my god! Get Carson down here now!" Elizabeth cried to the technicians above. Moving over, she helped the others settle John down onto the steps.

He looked deadly pale. His handsome face registered total shock as he continued to clutch his side in obvious pain. Blood poured freely through his fingers to soak his uniform and drip onto the floor.

Elizabeth desperately wanted to know what had gone wrong, but explanations would have to wait until John was safe and secure in the infirmary.

Everyone tried to reassure Sheppard and themselves as they waited for the emergency team to arrive. Time seemed to stand still, although it had probably only been a matter of minutes. Elizabeth exchanged a worried look with the others as she noticed the ever-growing pool of blood at John's feet. "Where the hell are they?" she shouted.

"They're on their way and will be here in a few minutes!" The technician called back.

Elizabeth returned her gaze to John and became alarmed; he seemed to be fading before her eyes. Kneeling down before him, she held his face between her hands and looked directly into his eyes. "Carson's nearly here and then he'll have you soon taken care of and all tucked up in the infirmary. Please John, just stay with us. You hear me?"

His face went even whiter, if that was possible. An audible cry of pain passed between his blue lips and Sheppard whispered. "Not good." His dull eyes lifted to meet Elizabeth's and she watched in horror as the life drained out of them as he slumped forward and stopped breathing.

"No! You're not doing this to me, Sheppard!" she screamed as she felt hands pull her away from John's lifeless body. Through her numbness, Elizabeth suddenly registered that Carson and his team had arrived on the scene.

Moving quickly, they had Sheppard stretched out below the steps. The team worked efficiently as they stripped John's upper clothing to expose his chest and blood soaked side. A nurse already had an oxygen mask in place and as was pumping air into his lifeless body. One of the staff was charging up the defibrillator and preparing the paddles for Carson. As soon as the machine started bleeping, Carson grabbed them and shouted. "Clear!" They all watched as John's body jerked off the ground and Carson listened intently with his stethoscope only to shout. "Again!"

Time seemed to go in slow motion as the team watched in disbelief as the doctors worked fanatically shocking Sheppard repeatedly until Beckett wearily stood up. Glancing at his watch, he quietly whispered for the record, "Time of death, 16.25," Before turning sorrowful eyes towards the others. "I'm…I'm so sorry, but there's nothing more we can do. He bled out and his heart failed before we could do anything."

Suddenly coming out of his shock, Rodney marched over to John. "Oh, no, no, no, you're not doing this to us, Sheppard. How the - shit - do you think we're going to cope without you!" he ranted, "And you've - fucking well - left us with Caldwell!"

Cringing, Elizabeth knew there was every good chance that Caldwell had just heard that remark because she'd seen the man standing near the top of the stairs but quite frankly, right now, she couldn't give a damn. Her whole world had just come crashing down, and the day she'd been dreading for almost two years now had finally happened.

Slowly, she moved towards Rodney, who was still ranting and raving, and calling John all the names under the sun through his pain at losing the man, he called his best friend. Gently taking his arm, Elizabeth pulled him away from the scene as the medical staff covered John's body and prepared to take him to the morgue.

Off to one side, she could see Teyla crying softly in Ronon's arms, unashamed at showing her sorrow and pain. Elizabeth envied her and wished for just once she didn't have to play the strong leader. Although right now, at this very time, she had to remain composed for Atlantis and its people. Even if she felt like screaming and crying, she had to lock her feelings in knowing that she couldn't break down in front of everyone. Not now, but later in the solitude of her own room, she knew she would be crying herself to sleep tonight.

As if in a dream, she led Rodney up the stairs towards her office and as they went by Caldwell, he moved to join them. Once in the solitude of her room, she made Rodney sit down and moved around her desk to sit and face the Colonel.

Caldwell's face was solemn, full of his own regret. "What the hell happened?" he asked. "Did Sheppard provoke them or something?"

"Absolutely not!" Rodney shot up out the chair to face the Colonel. "In fact, he did nothing other than required. Teyla negotiated our teams release and everything went well. I just don't understand why the chieftain did what he did?"

Elizabeth held up her hand. "It's too late for questions, and we'll probably never know why because, as of now, that planet is blacklisted and I'm not sending anyone else back there, ever again."

Both men agreed just as Carson came walking in. "I hope I'm not interrupting anything but I'd like to talk a little about what just happened." The doctor stated as he took a chair.

Elizabeth rubbed moisture from her eyes. "No, that's all right, Carson. We were just discussing what happened back on the planet."

"Aye, I've just spoken to Lorne about it and he said Sheppard acted perfectly normal and in no way aggressive towards them."

Caldwell still looked unsure. "I'll have a briefing with the rest of the men later and get their version."

Rodney stood up. "There's no other version to get! Sheppard did nothing to make that maniac stab him!"

Elizabeth saw that this was leading to trouble and she really didn't need that right now. "That's enough!" she pleaded, "John is lying in the morgue, and this is not the time to…" She wanted to say more but her voice broke.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to throw accusations, but after Sheppard's behavior earlier, I had to ask." Caldwell apologized.

Elizabeth nodded and turned to Carson. "What did you want to talk about?"

Carson was beginning to feel that this may not be the right time but he was here now and this had to be addressed. "Sheppard shouldn't have died from that injury. It was almost as if he lost every pint of blood in a matter of minutes. I don't think I have to tell ya that that's not at all normal, even if a major artery had been hit. However, from the position of the stab wound that's highly unlikely. We'll have to be doing an autopsy as part of the report." Everyone reluctantly nodded before Carson continued. "We'll also conduct various tests to see if he was suffering from some unknown problem…like blood cancer for instance. Although, his last checkup showed nothing but ya never know. I'll be seeing to that first thing tomorrow."

Carson looked at the Rodney and Elizabeth's ashen faces. "If anybody needs any help with getting to sleep tonight or a stiff Scottish whiskey, I've got some in my office, ya only need to ask." With that, Carson got up and left, leaving three very quiet and thoughtful people behind.


	5. This Is Not Good

Part 5 – This Is Not Good

Early the next morning, Carson entered the cold and sterile room where they performed the routine autopsies. He'd had the unpleasant task of having to do one too many in the last year or so, but this one was going to be the most difficult to face.

Some of his staff had already prepared things for him. Reluctantly lifting the white cover from John's still and stark torso, Carson felt a shiver run up his spine and he started to gag. He thought he could do this but faced with lifeless corpse of a man who had become a good friend, Carson felt his stomach turn. To see John Sheppard lying so – **dead** - was more than he could take.

Fleeing from the room, he bumped straight into one of his staff and cried. "I can't do it!"

Dr. Biro came forward as she'd half expected it. "I'm surprised you even tried, Dr. Beckett. Look, it's going to be difficult to find anyone willing to do this in Atlantis but Dr. Grison from the Daedalus is on standby in case we had a problem. I'll call him for you."

"Aye, I think that's for the best." Carson murmured as he walked away towards the restroom.

-SGA-

Later that afternoon, Carson received the lab reports and autopsy findings, which had him so baffled that he requested a meeting with all senior staff as soon as possible.

An hour later, they quietly assembled in the briefing room. Elizabeth was the last to walk in and she looked terrible, although they all showed signs of pain and grief. All expect Caldwell who looked his usual efficient self.

Elizabeth would have preferred Major Lorne to be present but Caldwell had insisted that that wasn't necessary. The question of command was still open to discussion as they had yet to inform S.G.C. However, all that could wait until after arrangements for John's funeral, and then there was the question of notifying his next of kin, if he had any.

Elizabeth wearily lowered herself onto her chair. Her eyes showed the signs of hours of crying, her hair hung limp, lifeless, barely combed and she seemed to have aged overnight. She made the mistake of glancing towards the empty space where Sheppard usually sat as if expecting him to be there and her tears resurfaced causing Rodney and Teyla to quickly turn away to hide their own damp eyes.

Taking a deep breath to calm her inner torment, Elizabeth turned to Carson. "What do you have to report?"

Beckett looked suddenly unsure that he wanted to add to her pain but this was necessary. "I've got the reports back and…well, as I said before, he shouldn't 'ave died from that wound. It was deep but it didn't pierce any major arteries. It nicked some smaller ones, missed the stomach by miles and really only punctured muscle and yet he bleed to death in less than five minutes. I've had every test I can think of performed and it appears that he'd become a hemophiliac, overnight."

Ronon looked puzzled. "What's one of those?"

"To put into simple teams, a hemophiliac is someone whose blood fails to clot. Now ya know when you have a cut it bleeds a little and then eventually stops because the blood thickens. It clots." Everyone nodded in understanding before Carson continued. "Now ya have to understand that hemophilia is inherited, however a similar condition can be caused by taking too much of certain blood thinning drugs. Nevertheless, I can assure ya that Sheppard wasn't on drugs or a hemophiliac, so that leaves us with a wee bit of a puzzle as the why his blood failed to coagulate."

Carson paused, looking at his notes. "So we tested his DNA and that came up one hundred percent John Sheppard. We then did other blood tests and the values were quite frankly…bloody dreadful. It seems his immune system was breaking down at a rapid rate as his blood showed a very low level of white blood cells. In fact, they were almost nonexistent like you would expect to find in a patient with advanced AIDS. Once again, Sheppard certainly didn't have that. Then we thought that he may have picked up some other nasty virus or other organism that could have caused these problems but apart from the early onset of infection in the wound, we found nothing. He didn't have any rare or strange blood diseases or cancers or anything and yet… " Sighing loudly, Carson finished. "Quite frankly, I'm totally baffled."

Deep in thought, Rodney asked. "The body was normal?"

"What do ya mean by that, Rodney?"

"You know scars in the right place, false teeth, titanium hip, nuts and bolts, or whatever else John Sheppard had that he wasn't born with."

Everyone looked a little annoyed, especially Elizabeth but Carson looked confused. "The Colonel didna 'ave false teeth, Rodney, or a replacement hip but he did have scars. What are ya getting at?"

Rodney shifted slightly, almost nervous. "That the body we have in the morgue may not be our John Sheppard."

"I've already told ya that the DNA proves it is." Carson stated.

"Yes, yes, I know but I think it's time for our long overdue mission report to…to…err…what it they name that miserable planet?"

"Capella," Teyla helpfully supplied.

"Yes, Capella and its mad scientist, so where do we begin." Rodney stated as he began to relate the events that were already two days old.

Everyone listened intently as Rodney with a little input from Teyla and Ronon finished his report. "So what do you think? Is it possible that that Tyrell woman could have copied our Sheppard and kept the real one?"

Elizabeth's heart was pounding. "How can we find that out?"

In a shot, Carson was out of his seat. "There's only one bloody way and that's go over that body with a fine tooth comb. But if it's a copy like ya say, Rodney, maybe it copied the scars as well?"

Rodney looked a little worried. "I'm hoping that isn't the case, so why don't we go and have a look."

-SGA-

Fifteen minutes later, Carson and Rodney entered the freezing cold morgue. Neither of them wanted to pull out the draw that contained the body of their friend but Rodney had already convinced himself that this wasn't their John Sheppard and if they were going to get the real one back then they needed to know for sure.

Carson slowly pulled back the metal shelf and uncovered the body. Convinced or not, Rodney suddenly found he couldn't look as Carson turned the corpse over to examine its back. When Carson yelled with joy, Rodney turned back to face him. "Ya were bloody right, Rodney! Mystery solved, no scars and I'm betting we'd find other things if we looked close enough but I'm convinced."

However, their jubilation was somewhat damped as they gathered with the others a while later to discuss how the hell they were going to get Sheppard back?

-SGA-

He woke with a start not knowing who he was or where he was for a minute or two. Then the fog cleared as he slowly sat up to survey his surroundings. Everything seemed the same as he remembered, opulent bed, huge guestroom, fully clothed. _Fully clothed!_ However, not in his uniform, John noted, as he looked down in shock at the white tunic and pants that he now wore. His weapons weren't anywhere in sight and he started to have a very bad feeling as he jumped off the bed and went in search of his teammates.

Walking barefooted, he carefully opened the door next to his were Rodney should have been but he was greeted by the sight of a neatly made-up bed and no sign of the Canadian. The next two rooms proved to be just as empty.

Trying not to panic, John quickly walked towards the dining area hoping to find his team having breakfast but once again, he was greeted with a quiet emptiness and genuine anxiety started to set in. A fear that amplified when the servant he'd met before approached him and said. "If you'd like to come this way please, Master Sheppard, Mistress Tyrell is waiting for you."

Having no choice but to follow, John moved behind the man as he lead the way through numerous passageways towards what John now realized were Lena Tyrell's private quarters. However, instead of going into the office, the servant escorted John into the lavish living room and left him there.

A few minutes later, Dr. Tyrell entered and carefully shut the door behind her. Dressed in red, she certainly made an attractive picture but John turned his thoughts to another woman who liked to dress in red and wished with all his heart that he were back in Atlantis. "What have you done with my team?" he questioned angrily.

"They are safe and back where they came from."

"I don't believe you. They would not have left without me, so I'm asking again. What's happened to my team?"

"And I'll tell you exactly the same as I did before. They've gone home."

John couldn't believe what she was saying. "They wouldn't do that, not without me…not unless you forced them to. What did you do them, knock them out and…?" John stopped as all sorts of horrible scenarios played in his head.

Tyrell was smiling but as before, it was unpleasant to see. "Oh my dear, darling John, they didn't leave without you. I kindly made them a copy and I've kept the real one for myself," she purred as she moved to caress his face.

John moved back out of range, sickened by what she'd told him. "I hope you don't mean that?"

"Of course, I mean it. I was being very generous, don't you think. I mean, I could have killed them and still kept you."

"Why the hell do you want me?" John asked, although he had a bad feeling he already knew the answer.

"New blood, John," she answered leaving him cold as his guess had been right on the ball. "However, seeing as you can't ever leave here again, I'll tell you all our problems with the duplicates and then maybe you'll understand."

"I doubt it," John muttered.

Tyrell chose to ignore him. "I'll put it to you truthfully. The copying process turned out to be flawed and the duplicates are unfortunately weak and sickly. My first copy died after only two weeks, so the doctors worked quickly to understand the problem, and although nothing much could be done to improve the situation, they developed a sterile environment for me to live in, namely this dome. I have to be very careful and take a cocktail of drugs to keep my body fit and well." Pointing to the ceiling, she stated. "The whole of Sanjava is sealed and protected from the outside world. The air is purified, the water and food I eat is specially produced to be free of all contaminants."

"Wait a minute, you said you'd copied me and send it back with my team?" John asked. "How long will the double last?"

"That will all depend on how contaminated your home planet is," she answered him, "Although, I estimate about a month or so. You know you never did tell me where you come from?"

"And I'm not telling you now, Doctor, but don't you think my people are going to put two and two together when the copy suddenly drops dead on them? We have a very good doctor and he'll soon realize it's a fake." _I hope, _John silently thought.

The Tyrell woman suddenly burst out laughing turning John's insides cold again. "What difference would it make? They would never be able to penetrate this complex. Believe me, people have tried over the centuries, and they all failed. Get used to it, John, this is your new home and I'm either your keeper or your mistress but that's up to you. And don't even think about trying to escape, the whole of Sanjava is staffed by my most loyal people and each room has hidden surveillance day and night."

"Even this one?" John had to ask.

She smirked at him but didn't answer. "I expect you're wondering why I chose you and not the other one...err…Dr. McKay?"

"A little, although I'm glad Rodney does not have to go through all this."

"Oh…how very noble of you, John." She purred reaching out for him again, Sheppard quickly sidestepped. A hint of annoyance flashed in her eyes. "Enough of this nonsense, I chose you because I had you scanned during the decontamination process. You're an Ancient aren't you?"

John could have laughed out loud at that but decided to remain neutral and play along. "So what if I am?"

"Then I'd like to know where they've been hiding? The Ancients disappeared over ten thousand years ago. Where did they go, John?"

"Oh, you know, here and there." He certainly wasn't about to tell her about Earth and Atlantis. "How the hell should I know?"

"Because you've got the Ancient gene, so that makes you one of them," she stated with conviction.

"I see, so that makes all the other humans in this galaxy with the gene, Ancients too?" He hoped he had her there.

"No, of course not, they are inferior just like your Dr. McKay. You're the first human I've found with a strong and pure gene which means you're an Ancient."

John had to end this now. "I'm sorry to disappoint you but I'm as ordinary as they are and up until a couple of years ago, I'd never heard of the Ancients. Why is it so important anyway?"

"Power, John. I have always wanted to unite with an Ancient and together we would destroy the Wraith and rule the galaxy." There was utter madness in her eyes when she spoke leaving John appalled. "We rule this small world but it is no longer enough. Join with us, John and we'll conquer worlds."

"Who are we?" He asked gathering as much intel as possible.

"Why my followers of course, but you haven't meet them yet, how silly of me. Come I will give you a guided tour of your new home and introduce you to all the others. Although, my doctors already know about you, as they made your double."

A sudden horrible notion flashed through John's mind. _What if he wasn't the original? What if the doctors had made numerous copies of him and they were all waiting to come to life when he was dead?_

His thoughts drifted to his colleagues and friends back in Atlantis. Of them having to watch his doppelganger die, thinking it was him. The bad feeling grew as he realized just what a mess he was in this time and a hollow sensation spread as he wondered if he would ever see Atlantis or his friends again.


	6. All Is Not Well In Paradise

Part 6 – All Is Not Well In Paradise

Steven Caldwell wasn't happy as he joined the others in the gateroom as they tried a dial up to Capella. Everyone seemed convinced that the way to go was to march right in there and demand Sheppard back however, the Colonel had the distinct feeling that that could end in disaster. He wanted a more subtle approach; send in a special ops team to gather intel and try to make allies of the people outside the dome but the others had argued that it would take too long. Time, they reckoned that Sheppard didn't have because the mad crazed woman could be doing untold things to him or worse.

Elizabeth and Rodney stood together as the gate technician started to punch in the coordinates for PX5-776. As the last symbol engaged, everyone waited anxiously but a wormhole failed to connect.

Rodney slapped his hands against his forehead. "No, no, no! He shouted. "I was afraid of this."

"Rodney, what does it mean?" Elizabeth asked fearfully, although she already knew the answer.

"They've removed the DHD crystals," he confirmed her suspicions.

Elizabeth felt her eyes water. "Then there's nothing we can do?"

Rodney looked broken. "No."

Caldwell approached them. This could have been an opportunity for him to just right Sheppard off and aim for the job he wanted as head of military operations in Atlantis. The job he thought he would have just a day ago when the copy of Sheppard had died. However, Caldwell wasn't as bad as many thought him to be. He was a man of honor and over the last eight months or so had come to admire the younger man who was the C.O. of Atlantis. Therefore, he hoped that the idea he had would help them bring him back. "Where exactly is the planet located and can it be reached with the Daedalus?"

McKay looked sadly at the Colonel, surprised that the man would have made the suggestion. "It would be a five day trip but I don't see how that would help us much because according to Dr. Tyrell, the planet is protected by an anti Wraith system. If it stops hive ships, it will stop us."

"How do you know for sure, McKay?" Dr. Zelenka spoke up from the sidelines.

Rodney threw up his hands. "I don't, but that's what we were told. The Daedalus could be blown out of the sky, are you willing to take that risk?"

"I heard her also, Dr. McKay," Teyla put in, "but I believe it is worth at least looking. Maybe the system only works for Wraith and that awful woman would not know that we had a space ship at our disposal."

"Teyla is right," pondered Elizabeth. "So I'm authorizing you to take the Daedalus and see if there is anyway to land or beam onto the planet safely. We can't leave Colonel Sheppard in the hands of a fanatic like that. She sounds very dangerous and I know John would take the risk if it was any one of us."

Everyone nodded in agreement and they all started to plan for the campaign to come.

-SGA-

As soon as the servant closed the door to his assigned room, John turned around to see if it had a lock. _No such luck! _There wasn't even a keyhole. The door had a simple handle to open it, just great if he wanted to wander around but not so good at keeping the damn crazy woman out. This wasn't the guest bedroom he'd had before but rather one situated nearer to her private quarters, which meant he was in real trouble if she decided to pay him a visit.

After giving up on the lock, Sheppard studied the room intently for surveillance equipment however, after searching everywhere, nothing turned up. He had no doubt it was here somewhere but very well hidden. Resigned, he fell onto the comfortable bed and considered the events of the last five of hours or so.

As promised, Tyrell had showed him much of the main dome and she'd introduced him to many of the other occupants. Some of them had seemed darn right hostile towards him, especially a man called Alexei Aldrich. The hate-filled man had literally thrown daggers with his crazy eyes. Tyrell hadn't said so in so many words but John had the impression that the man was one of her original team making him a copy just like her. In other words, he'd been stuck in this environment for hundreds of years. Meaning in all that time, Aldrich had never again seen the sun, the stars, or the deep blue sky. He'd never breathed in normal air, full of the smells of life, and little things like going for a walk in the woods or shopping in a mall or taking a skateboard to the park.

Suddenly, John felt homesick for America, which was crazy because he really didn't miss that life. _No_, John thought, it was better to have a normal life span than years like that, no wonder the guy seemed nuts.

Deciding it was best to play along for the time being, Sheppard had been on his best behavior gathering intel as much as he could during the tour. Tyrell was right when she had said that the dome was self-contained, but it seemed that security forces really did make regular patrols of the city ruins. Maybe, he could utilize that fact and make a run for it that way.

Going without food wasn't an option, as he had to stay fit and healthy. Therefore, after the tour, he'd eaten a plentiful meal. Although, he'd been concerned about drugs and the like. Now, he faced getting through the night and going without sleep also wasn't an option, so he got ready for bed.

He found everything he needed neatly placed in a closet. There was plenty of clothing, although not really his choice of styles, underwear, and another pair of shoes much like the ones he'd worn for the grand tour, once again certainly not his choice. In the bathroom, he found the usual requirements, soap, shampoo, comb, toothbrush and paste, and a shaver that looked something like his grandpa may have used.

Looking in the mirror, the face that stared back at him needed a darn good shave, so he went about freshening up before bed. Using the shaver was something else. It had an open razor blade, and after lathering his face, he cautiously began to remove the stubble. The tricky bit was around the curve of his chin and even with great care, he managed to nick it and it bled like hell. Cursing, he grabbed a piece of toilet paper and held it onto the cut while he looked to see if he could find a plaster or something. No such luck, so he waited until the tiny cut eventually stopped bleeding. _Maybe I'll have to grow a beard,_ he considered but the idea didn't appeal to him even though he'd grown one when stuck in time dilation field some months ago.

Finished with his preparations, he climbed gratefully into the oversized bed. Normally, he slept in just a pair of boxers but he felt the need for a little more, so he designated a thin tunic top and pants as his nightwear.

He tried to sleep but his mind wouldn't give him the rest he required. Every noise, every creak had him listening intently as he dreaded the fact that she may come but as the hours went by his fatigue slowly drove him into a light doze.

It must have been in the early hours of the morning, when he woke with a start to find someone standing over his bed. Seconds later, a cloth pressed firmly against his nose and he tried to fight it but it must have contained something to knock him out as he felt his world spin into nothing.

-SGA-

The Daedalus was quickly prepped and ready to go in a matter of hours. There was no shortage of people, who wanted to help with the rescue mission. So along with the regular Daedalus crew were Dr. McKay, Teyla, Ronon, Dr. Beckett, Major Lorne, Lt. Cadman, Sgt. Macklin, Corporal Meyer, and ten other military volunteers mainly marines and even the reluctant Dr. Zelenka, who had stated that he owed the Colonel one.

As they left, Elizabeth looked on with hope and trepidation wishing that she could have joined them but knowing her place was here. The young Captain standing by her side felt the same but someone had to hold the fort until Sheppard and Lorne returned.

-SGA-

Sheppard woke up groggily feeling the effects of the knockout drops as his stomach rolled with nausea. He started to gag, looking around desperately for something to be sick in. Suddenly, he felt a bowl pushed into his hand and his stomach gave up what little it had. "Sorry about that." A gruff voice announced. "That damn stuff does that to most people."

John lifted his head to find a balding middle-aged man in a white doctor's coat staring down at him. They were alone in a small examining room, which contained just a couch, and the chair that John was currently sitting in. Fear spread through Sheppard's veins as he wondered what atrocities he was in for now but when the older man spoke, he seemed reassuring and rational. "I'm so sorry we had to bring you here like this but we couldn't risk making too much noise and we doubted you'd come along voluntarily. I also apologize for the early hour but we had to do it before anyone missed you."

Seeing John relax somewhat, the man sat himself down on the couch. "In a minute we will be joined by two others who wish to speak to you, although we'll have to keep the meeting short." Sheppard still felt queasy, so he simply nodded his head in understanding just as the others came into the room locking the door behind them, returning John's unease full blast.

The white-coated man quickly stood up. "Colonel Sheppard, this is security officer Jonas Tamar," he said pointing to a man in a dark uniform that John recognized from before. "The gentleman with him is accounts secretary Val Batas and I'm Dr. Steppe Ricaud. We are part of an organization dedicated to reestablishment of the old order. Our goal is to overthrow Dr. Tyrell, Aldrich and their followers, and we believe your arrival is a sign."

_Oh, here we go again, _John thought but maybe he would hear them out, as this really could be a way out of here, so he simply asked. "Why do you want to change things?"

"Before we answered that, can we trust you, Colonel?" The man called Tamar asked.

John didn't hesitate in answering him. "I'm being kept here against my will, so you can trust me one hundred percent."

Tamar looked satisfied. "That's good. I think you may have noticed the inequality of our society, Colonel. Well, it wasn't always like that. There was a time, before Dr. Tyrell and her henchman Aldrich fancied themselves as immortal beings, when the whole city was a thriving and highly advanced society."

"You mean having themselves copied changed all that?"

Dr. Ricaud spoke this time. "I don't think you need to be told that the copying process is flawed. I don't know what Tyrell has told you but apart from the fact the duplicate bodies have a tendency to die if exposed to a normal environment, they are completely and utterly mad after later imprinting. The first imprinting wasn't so bad, just the odd personality flaw or so, and for the first hundred years or so they were rational. Then later, well, both Tyrell and Aldrich have serious problems. To put it mildly, they're very dangerous and totally insane."

"You're getting away from the point." Tamar said. "We need to tell the Colonel about the city."

"Yes, yes, so why don't you do that?" The doctor replied with an attitude that reminded John a little of McKay and he suddenly felt terribly homesick.

Tamar's loud cough brought John back to reality. "As I was saying, Colonel, the city was a healthy, prosperous place and they had an excellent defense system against the Wraith. Then about two hundred years ago, the people became restless, they wanted what they saw as the better life within Sanjava. This was due mainly to the fact that the city had already started to decline. The services such as transportation, waste collection, etc. were no longer adequate or reliable. The crime rate went up alarmingly, many became unemployed, and the riots started. Then there was a cry for immortality just like Tyrell and Aldrich. Others wanted to live on and after that, the problems really began to escalate. There was anarchy throughout the city and in the end only the lawbreakers remained as others fled through the Ancestral Gate or tried to find a place to live on this world, but inhabitable land is scarce because of the harsher climate elsewhere."

"And during all that upheaval no one got into Sanjava?" asked John, knowing he probably wouldn't like the answer.

"Apparently, they tried and there was some talk that some actually did but we've not seen any evidence of that. Our defense forces are very good at keeping people out. However, over the last decade or so, more and more of us are becoming restless to live on the outside again. We wish to experience that which is written in the history books." Tamar looked almost desperate. "The only people to get out of here for a short time are the security patrols and most of them are loyal to Aldrich especially the Captain who picked you up."

"So you don't get out yourself?" John asked a little disappointed.

"Unfortunately, no, I am responsible for internal security and I have two higher officers over me, both of whom are loyal to Aldrich."

John wanted to know a heck of a lot more but Val Batas, who hadn't said a word to date, came forward and said nervously. "Don't you think it's best to get him back now?"

Tamar looked at his watch and agreed. "Yes, but we'll talk tomorrow at the same time, Colonel. Unfortunately, our loyal men will soon be replaced and it would be better if you're back in your room by then."

"I hope you're not going to knock me out again?"

The doctor came forward. "That won't be necessary and the next time you will know what to expect."

Fifteen minutes later, John was back in his room. He tried to sleep, but his mind was full of questions.


	7. Your Pet Ancient

A wee bit of whumping on the way. Please review, as I love to know what you think of the story. Reposted 7/03 after a slight revision.

Part 7 – Your Pet Ancient

The next night, John attempted once again to sleep as he waited for them to come for him. He'd had an absolutely dreadful day trying to appease the Tyrell woman without letting her get too close. She'd eventually let the gardeners and engineers show him to biosphere domes, which had proved somewhat interesting. They certainly had technical advancement, though nothing they used was of Ancient design. As far as John could tell, the power source was similar to a naqahdah generator, but the air and water purification units had fascinated him the most, as they were truly amazing in their simplicity.

Ultimately, fatigue from lack of sleep the night before drove him into a restless slumber until he felt a hand on his arm waking him. Silently, he got up and followed the doctor, only this time Dr. Ricaud took him to some labs lined with equipment he'd rather not know about.

"We'll wait here a moment, as Tamar will join us shortly." The doctor instructed.

A few minutes later, Tamar came in alone this time. "Ah…Colonel Sheppard it is good to see you again. Come this way, I'd like to show you something."

Without another word, Jonas Tamar led the way through endless passageways and down countless flights of stairs until they came to what John guessed were underground basements. The area was damp and musty from years of disuse and a network of rusty old pipes and cables lay exposed and littered the overhead ceilings, long discarded for newer systems. Tamar suddenly came to a stop in front of an old filing cabinet. Pushing it aside, he revealed a small crawl space behind and without further a do, he dropped to his knees and clambered in leaving John and the doctor to follow. The hole led them into a small hollow space dug out from behind the basement wall. There was just about enough room to stand for the others but John, who was taller, found he had to crouch under the low rough and stony ceiling. Beyond the hollow, he could see a tunnel of sorts that led to, god-knows-where.

Tamar turned to face him. "We have been excavating this area for five years. It has proved to be a very difficult task but at long last we are only about a day or so away from breaking through to a building adjacent to the main dome."

Trying not to get too eager, John asked. "How long is the tunnel?"

"Oh, our engineers reckon about half a kilometer. Our biggest problem has been removing all the rock and soil without anyone finding it. Luckily, this area isn't patrolled very often and we have been able to fill up some of the disused underground chambers. Many of our members work in the garden and engineering sections, so they have closed a blind eye to the goings on. Our other problem was shoring up the tunnel to prevent collapse. For that, we utilized old metal panels, wooden planks and the like. The engineers assure me that it is safe but crawling down there now takes a long time, so we have devised a small platform and pulley system. In a minute, I'll be bringing one of are excavators back."

Looking at his watch, he crouched in front of a thick rope that John had only just seen. "You work at this every night?" Sheppard asked.

"Not always." Dr. Ricaud answered for him. "It depends on the security shifts and other factors. You must understand, Colonel, Sanjava is like an enclosed city. We have family units here but the population is very much controlled, Dr. Tyrell sees to that. Speaking of which, has she left you alone so far?"

John knew exactly what he was getting at. "Yes, thank god." he murmured.

"Uh…we were under the impression that she kept you because she wanted…to…err…now how can I put this…utilize your Ancient gene."

John really didn't want to know in what way she wanted to – utilize - his gene, but he had a good idea. "You mean she wants to reproduce with me?"

"When you put it that way, then, yes," The doctor smiled. "But that goes to show how crazy she is because a pregnancy would - in all likely hood - kill her current body. My guess is that she realizes that and has decided to leave you alone for now. I'm also guessing that you would not be a willing party?"

Sheppard looked disgusted. "Definitely not, the woman doesn't do a thing for me and I hate admit it, she scares the hell out of me and I've faced a Wraith queen before now."

Dr. Ricaud looked astonished. "Really? I'd love to talk about that sometime but other matters are more pressing right now."

They stopped talking just in time to see Tamar pull out a rather dirty and disheveled short and skinny man from the tunnel. Immediately, the wiry fellow was on his feet and he turned angrily towards the security officer. "Who the hell is this, Tamar?"

"Jon Bola meet Colonel John Sheppard of… I'm sorry, but you never did tell us where you come from?"

"I'm sorry, too, but I can't tell you that. Let's just say, I'm from a galaxy far, far away." John replied.

Dr. Ricaud looked surprised again. "Galaxy? I had no idea you weren't from our systems of stars but you're an Ancient or at least that's what Dr. Tyrell keeps telling us."

Sheppard nearly laughed at that. "No…I'm not an Ancient even though I have the ATA gene."

"Really…that's interesting…"

Jon Bola interrupted the doctor looking angry. "What the hell has all this got to do with getting out of here?"

"Nothing really, only that Colonel Sheppard is going to help us." Tamar answered him. "You will help us won't you?"

"I want to get out of here as much as you do, so what do you want me to do?"

"What can you do, Colonel?" Tamar asked.

John was beginning to feel better about this. "Fly ships, shoot guns, activate ancient devises, run for my life, and if required, dig holes with my teeth."

"Well, we won't ask you to do that but you can help us fight when the time comes. We have accumulated quite a small arsenal of guns over the years." Tamar told him.

"I'm glad to hear that," John stated. "What's the time scale and what's your plan?"

"You're really not going to tell him all that are you, Tamar?" Bola objected. "He could undo all our hard work these last five years."

"I take it you don't know that I'm being kept here against my will?" John put in. Bola shook his head, so John told him his story.

By the time he'd finished, everyone agreed that it was time to get Sheppard back to his room. The planning would have to wait for another night.

-SGA-

The next three nights went much the same with Ricaud coming early each morning to take Sheppard to meet Tamar. They'd discussed plans, John had seen their weapons and eventually the tunnel was ready when they had finally broken into the run down and empty basement a block away.

There was no way to get everyone out on the first try as the rebels were too numerous, so it was decided to send a small well armed group out first while others try to take important areas within Sanjava. John decided he should go with the first group and then try to make his way back home to bring in reinforcements. They didn't really trust him on that one, however he gave them his word that he would return.

Now the time had come to make a break for it; the scheduled was for the early hours. John had gone to bed as usual to wait for Dr. Ricaud. Instead of donning his usual nightwear, he decided to dress in a hardwearing tunic, which reminded him of thick linen. John didn't have a weapon yet for fear of detection, he would receive one at the tunnel entrance.

Again, he tried hard to get in a little sleep before whatever events lay ahead. As he rested in readiness on the top of the bed in the dark room, he tried everything from counting sheep to complex math equations but nothing induced the much-needed sleep or least that's what he thought. However, he must have dozed because suddenly, he felt a strong hand fall across his mouth.

Startled by the unusual force, his impulse was to try to push the hand away but before he could do anything, his assailant forcibly dragged him off the bed. Something told him this wasn't Dr. Ricaud and his fight instincts took over as he tried to overpower the heavy being on top of him. John managed to get a knee in where it counts and was pleased to hear a grunt of pain from his attacker. However, his advantage didn't last long as he felt other hands pull him upright and a powerful fist connected with his jaw leaving him seeing stars and woozy. Before John had time to recover, another blow connected with his stomach. He doubled over in agony, and he felt like losing his supper as he sank to the ground. Another blow from a foot connected with his back and he collapsed onto his side as more feet joined in to kick and beat him until the blessed relief of oblivion claimed him.

-SGA-

He woke sometime later to the unpleasant sensation of having his arms stretched high above his head as he hung suspended from the ceiling in a cold white walled room. He could barely touch the ground with the toes of his shoeless feet. Every breath that he took caused pain to shoot through his battered body and John was vaguely concerned about internal damage from the beating he'd taken. His shoulders and arms screamed in protest at having to support most of his weight.

Off in the distance, he dimly heard the sound of angry voices as he drifted in and out. His awareness returned when the voices suddenly grew louder as they approached him. One voice he recognized as belonging to Lena Tyrell, so he forced his eyes open and was shocked to see her angrily facing two men, the dreaded Aldrich and disturbingly, Dr. Ricaud. _This is not good_, his brain hazily registered as his eyes drifted closed again but whirling in and out, he still heard them ranting.

Lena Tyrell screamed. "What gives you the right to bring him here? He's mine and I'll not have him treated this way."

"Get real, Lena, your pet Ancient is nothing other than a common human, Dr. Ricaud can vouch to that." Aldrich snarled.

Tyrell was incensed. "My pet Ancient! How dare you call him that? You're only jealous because I don't want you anymore!"

Aldrich's horrible sickly laugh echoed around the room making John's stomach turn. "If you think you can have children with him, think again. Haven't the doctors told you time and time again that your useless body couldn't stand it?"

"The same goes for you," Lena shrieked making John's skin crawl.

"Don't be absurd, woman, you know the doctors have made sure my body is superior to yours. Anyway, I'm not planning on getting pregnant, am I?"

John wouldn't have believed what he was hearing if he didn't already know that these two beings were totally insane. The only problem was how to stop Aldrich from doing him permanent harm. He was currently in no position to do anything but hope for a miracle, so he let their hate filled words drift over his head.

The next thing he knew, Lena Tyrell had come over to hug him, and for the first time, he was unable to shy away from her. His nerves went on edge as she softly cooed. "I've left you alone until now, John, because I wanted you to fall in love with me before we shared a bed. You do love me, don't you?" she implored.

John was speechless not knowing how to reply, if he said – no - she'd probably get angry making his predicament worse, and if he said – yes – then it could still cause a problem? However, Aldrich saved him from having to answer when he tried to make a grab for Lena causing her to hang on tighter and put an incredible strain on John's arms. He cried out and Tyrell hugged him even tighter.

Just when John thought he couldn't take anymore and his arms would dislocate, the weight suddenly vanished. He opened his eyes to see that Aldrich had successfully pulled her away. The mad man was struggling to keep the woman under his control as she ranted and raged, biting and kicking while trying to break free.

What happened next sent a shock wave racing through John's abused body as he heard the loud retort of a gun going off. Forcing his eyes open, he looked down to see Lena Tyrell lying in a large pool of blood. Alarmed by this turn of events, he felt a rush of adrenaline and raised his eyes to find Dr. Ricaud holding a small pistol. However, there was no sign of Aldrich.

The doctor lowered his gun and wasted no time in cutting John down from the ceiling. "I'm so sorry I couldn't intervene before", he stated with an edge of weariness, "but I had to wait until Tamar and his people had hopefully escaped."

John sat on the floor trying to suppress the pain that seemed to emanate from every inch of his body. "Where's Aldrich gone to?" he enquired through panting gasps.

"He ran off when I shot Dr. Tyrell. We'll have to watch out for him and his henchmen." Ricaud stated as if it was all in a day's work.

"So I missed the party?"

Ricaud looked sad at John's disappointment. "I'm afraid so. It was most unfortunately that Aldrich selected this time to grab you. Can you move? I'm asking because Aldrich may come back at any moment. Anyway, we shouldn't stay here as I have a job to do."

John knew he didn't have any choice, so he attempted to stand with the doctor's help. For a second or two the room swam before his eyes as he stood on shaky legs trying to regain his balance. "What job do you have to do, doc?" he whispered as his equilibrium finally settled down.

"I must destroy all the duplicates, Colonel, or the cycle will never end."


	8. The Long Road Ahead

Part 8 – The Long Road Ahead

An agonizing ten minutes later for Sheppard, they eventually arrived in a darkened room full of what looked like the Ancient pods from the Aurora. However, on closer inspection John could see that the design was somewhat different. "How many of these are there and how many copies did they make?"

"Far too many, Colonel, but all I need to do is cut off the power supplies and back up systems." The doctor answered as they moved into a large control room.

John welcomed the opportunity to ease himself down onto one of the many chairs placed around the room. Sucking in a breath at his continuing discomfort, he watched as the doctor pushed various buttons and typed commands into their version of a computer. "How come this area isn't guarded?" he asked with growing concern when the doctor finished typing.

"Normally it is. However, at this hour Officer Tamar's men would be on duty and I think you know where they are?"

John nodded and was almost afraid to ask the next question. "Did they only make one copy of me?"

The doctor turned to look at him. "Are you worried about killing off your own duplicates or maybe even - the real you?"

John looked directly at him. "Quite frankly, yes, wouldn't you be?"

"Yes, I would." The doctor answered in all honesty. "Unfortunately, I wasn't on the team reasonable for your duplication. Therefore, I don't really know how many copies they made or if you are the real Colonel Sheppard. Although, I'm pretty sure that you are or you would have suffered far more from the beating. But if it puts your mind at rest, there is one way to find out."

John was left wondering how much more he would have suffered, as he already felt rather shitty. Nevertheless, he needed the answer, so he whispered. "How?"

The doctor handed him a small pocket-knife. "Cut yourself and if it doesn't stop bleeding then I'm afraid you have a real problem." Holding up his gun to show how serious he was, Ricaud continued. "I'm sorry but I can't wait much longer as we risk being discovered. I must disconnect the power supplies in a minute or two whether you like it or not, Colonel."

John looked at him with disbelief. This was his life they were talking about and if there was any doubt, he could be killing to true John Sheppard. Without further hesitation, John opened the knife and drew a small cut across his palm of his left hand. Blood oozed from the cut and for a short while, it showed no sign of stopping but ultimately, the bleeding eased off and the doctor looked pleased. "Just as I thought," he murmured as he moved his hand over to a large red button. "You are the real John Sheppard," he stated positively, as he pushed the button down hard, causing all the lights to go out.

-SGA-

The Daedalus made record time to the Capellan system thanks to Hermiod hyperdrive tinkering and now the ship made a cautionary approach to the only inhabited planet, fourth out from a yellow sun that was at least a third bigger than Earth's.

Caldwell calmly sat in his command chair surveying the crew as they went about their usual duties. While McKay and Zelenka never took their eyes off the scanners for an instance, fearing that some horrible missile or laser beam would wipe them out of existence at any moment.

As they drew nearer all remained calm and normal. That was until McKay's sudden exclamation set them on edge. "I'm picking up an energy build up on the surface."

"Let's hold our position," Caldwell ordered the bridge pilot. "And be prepared for a quick retreat."

"Yes, sir," The young woman answered as she bought the ship to a halt still tens of thousands of kilometers from their goal.

Everybody waited with baited breath wondering whether they were going to have to run for it before they had even begun. Until McKay's mutter broke the silence. "That's strange…?"

When he didn't say anymore, Radek elbowed him in the ribs and asked. "What's strange, Rodney?"

"Oh, what, what," Rodney mumbled, coming out of his reverie. "The energy spiked and then completely vanished."

"Do you think it affected their defense systems, Dr. McKay?" Caldwell asked.

"Could be," Rodney pondered, "But there's only one way to find out. Go forward," he gestured with his hand.

Caldwell looked a little uncertain, "If you're sure, McKay?" Rodney nodded emphatically. Encouraged but still concerned, the Colonel ordered a slow approach.

-SGA-

In the total darkness, Dr. Ricaud fumbled for the torch he knew was on the desk. Eventually, his hand brushed against it and he mumbled. "Come on, we'd better get out of here quickly because I have just disconnected the entire power system and all the back ups, so someone is bound to investigate the problem sooner, rather than later. I can only hope that the Wraith don't choose this moment in time to return or well…I expect you know about that?"

"You mean the…defense system…is…down as well?" John asked through gritted teeth as he struggled to get up from the chair.

The doctor started to walk off, so John drew in a deep breath and doggedly moved to follow him as the doctor answered his question. "Yes, for the time being, but it shouldn't take Aldrich's engineers long to get things back on line. Of course, the power loss will be long enough to kill all the duplicates, both his and hers."

_And, maybe mine._ John thought grimly as he stumbled in the dark and sucked in another agonizing spasm of pain that ripped through his chest and back.

As they made their way down an endless white corridor, sounds of gunfire echoed off in the distance, causing the doctor to move quicker as he spoke. "We're going my office first to collect some medical equipment and then I'll find a place to hide you. Hopefully, this revolt won't take long and then we can send you home."

John was hoping for the same. The idea of home sounded wonderful right now, but he had the feeling he wasn't there yet, not by a long chalk.

The corridor eventually terminated in a typical office area of what John guessed was a hospital unit. Ricaud entered one of the rooms and quickly began to collect various items, shoving them hastily into a bag. "I would have treated you here if it wasn't for the fact that this is probably one of the first places they will look for you," the doctor murmured as he closed the bag. "I'm sorry to have to make you walk some more but we do need to get away from here."

John simply nodded and muttered, "I'm good to go," which was a monumental lie. The doctor shot him a skeptical look before moving off. Resignedly, John forced himself to follow the doctor as he took him on another marathon hike or at least that's what it felt like. However thankfully, Ricaud eventually called a halt and taking out a small plastic keycard, he opened a door leading into a spacious living area. "These are Officer Tamar's quarters and I'm sure he won't mind if you stay here for the time being. I just hope they don't realize that the man is involved in the uprising until later."

John looked at him, determination written all over his face. "Just patch me up, doc. Then I'd like to get back into the action."

The doctor stared at him with disbelief, reminding John even more of Carson. "I don't think so, Colonel Sheppard. You took quite a beating and you need to rest. I'm even not sure that there isn't any internal damage, so I'd like to check on you from time to time." Saying no more, the doctor directed John to a couch and started to examine him.

It felt good to lie down and John closed his eyes while the doctor grumbled over every cut and every bruise. "Why did you get me to cut myself?" John softly queried.

The doctor sighed. "I'll put it to you simply. One of the biggest failures with the duplication process was the blood quality. For some reason, the blood failed to contain the necessary properties for normal function. One such failure was the clotting process."

"The other was the immune system." John added. "Tyrell mentioned something about that."

"That's right." Ricaud replied, as he pondered. "You know, Colonel, the whole matter was so immoral and I've always believed that. We aren't meant to live forever, it just isn't the nature of things. Those two beings tried to do just that and they ruined a whole society in the process. I can only hope that we can restore it to its former glory someday and Capella City can once again become home for all its citizens."

John hoped so too but they would certainly have a monumental task on their hands. He nearly told Ricaud about Atlantis but felt it best not to for the time being, so he simply replied. "I hope you succeed."

"Thank you, I hope so too. Now, I've patched you up a best I can. There doesn't seem to be any serious internal damage but you have one or two cracked ribs and maybe slight trauma to the kidneys, as there is some severe bruising around that area. Did they kick you in the back?" John nodded slightly. "Right, I want you to drink a normal amount of water over the next twenty hours or so but if you don't pass much or if you experience any drowsiness, nausea, vomiting, or breathlessness you must let me know immediately. The last thing you need is permanent kidney failure." John whole-heartedly agreed on that, so he readily accepted the glass of water the doctor gave him before going to the bathroom in preparation for bed.

Half an hour later, John lay tucked up in bed, oblivious to the events unfolding around him after the doctor had tricked him into taking a mild pain medication, which had immediately sent him to sleep.

-SGA-

All eyes and hands were ready for the slightest sign of trouble as the Daedalus finally made orbit around the medium sized planet. The scanners and the detection equipment still failed to find the location of the energy source McKay had detected earlier but he and Radek remained alert looking for any other signatures. However, nothing turned up within ruined city or the dome itself.

"Okay," Caldwell called. "We'll go with plan A and beam an assault team directly into the main dome."

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Hermiod reported from his place in engineering. "The structure appears to be constructed out of highly reflective material meaning our signal fails to penetrate and bounces back immediately."

The Colonel looked slightly annoyed over this news, as he really didn't like the alternative. "All right, we'll go plan B then. Major Lorne is your team ready?"

"Yes, sir. So it's the city?"

"I'm afraid so." Caldwell turned quickly to McKay. "Are you ready, Dr. McKay?"

"Yes, yes, just give me a minute." Rodney replied, pushing a few more buttons. "We'll try to maintain radio contact at all times but I suggest you keep a very good eye on those energy scanners."

"I am fully aware of the danger, doctor. Now I suggest you move your as…self and join the others before they leave without you."

"Yes, going." Rodney called as threw Radek one last instruction.

McKay finally joined the others just as they were getting into position. Major Lorne and a ten man assault team stood prepared and waiting with military efficiency. Ronon and Teyla stood armed to the teeth ready for any eventuality, only Dr. Beckett looked a little lost situated by his medical equipment. He'd insisted in going even though he hated the idea of having his molecules beamed across time and space without the aid of a stargate, but his assistance was probably required, especially if it involved a certain Lt. Colonel. Swallowing his fear, he waited for the transport beam.

A few seconds later, the team found themselves standing in what could have been a beautiful city plaza if it wasn't for the fact it was broken to pieces and full of weeds. A lonely blackened metal statue of some past hero on the back of what looked a little like a horse stood guard over the ruin. The air felt uncomfortably warm and the buzz of insects filled the area with noise.

The group quickly dispersed to find a more shelter place to conduct their recon. The buildings around the square were solid and majestic but years of neglect had left them weather beaten and worn. Major Lorne led them over to a gabled walkway of sorts. The quarter must have served as a shopping area many years ago as barren shelves still showed through the empty walls.

Ducking into one of the shop shells, the Major brought them to a halt. "Okay, so far so good. By my reckoning, we're about two blocks from the largest dome. I suggest we break up into three groups and I want everyone to maintain radio contact at all time. McKay, are you picking up anything?"

"No, not a..." McKay paused as he worriedly looked at his scanner. "Wait a minute I'm getting some sign of power build up within the dome." Grabbing his radio, Rodney screamed into it. "Daedalus you'd better get out of orbit now! The power is coming back up and that could mean their defense systems!"

"Understood, Doctor. Daedalus out."

Everyone looked apprehensive knowing that they were on their own for the time being. "Okay," Lorne broke into their thoughts. "Sgt. Macklin, you take three marines and scout the northern parameter. Ronon, Teyla, you take two marines and scout west. I'll take the good doctors and the remaining marines, and cover the remaining area. Report in as requested."

"Yes, sir." The soldiers all whispered as they organized themselves and moved off in their respective groups.

"What shall I do with all this heavy equipment?" asked Beckett, pointing to several cases. "I can't lug it around all the time."

McKay muttered. "Well, you shouldn't have brought so much in the first place."

"You'll be thanking me if ya need it, Rodney. Ya knew there was a possibility that the Daedalus couldn't stay and knowing you people, especially the Colonel when we find him, I could be needing a little more than a wee small kit."

"Okay, doc, we understand." The Major stated as he looked around trying to see if there were any suitable hiding places. Off to one side he spotted a doorway and immediately went over to pull the door open. At first, the heavy metal door stuck, refusing to open after god knows how many years. A couple of marines went over to help him and finally they managed to get the door open enough to reveal a largish storage area. It smelt musty from years of disuse but apart from that, it was completely empty. "Okay, doc, we can park your stuff in here for the time being. Let's try not to forget where it's at."

"Aye, as long as you're sure it's safe in there?"

"This door hadn't been opened for years." The Major commented. "So let's hope there's no one is around to notice it's been messed with."

A few minutes later, the marines had Beckett's equipment safely stored and the door closed. The doctor retained a small field bag, just in case, as he cautiously moved off with the others, clutching a P90.


	9. Help Is On the Way

Part 9 – Help Is On the Way

John woke from a dreamless sleep to the sound of an angry voice shouting. "Where is he, doctor?" The voice sounded rough and fierce, sending a jolt of dread flowing through John's veins, as that certainly didn't sound like someone with good intentions.

Forcing his stiff and protesting body quietly out of the bed, Sheppard frantically looked around for a weapon of some sort. The only thing he spotted was a rather heavy metal lamp sitting on top of a commode. So quickly grabbing it, he pulled out the plug and moved to stand behind the partially open door, which lead into the living area. Not the best position to be in but there really wasn't anywhere else to hide other than under the bed, an even worst choice.

A few minutes later, a rather large and ugly individual forcibly pushed Dr. Ricaud into the room. In the second it took before the monster turned to survey his surroundings, John slammed the lamp down hard onto the man's head. However, even though John had put as much power into the blow as he could it only served to knock the man senseless for a second or two. Recovering far too quickly for John's liking, the brute shook his head to clear it and then moved towards him with murderous eyes.

Like a rabbit caught in a car's headlights, John froze knowing he didn't stand a chance but out of the corner of his vision, he saw Dr. Ricaud rise and slowly creep up on the man with a rather large syringe in his hand. John needed to distract the man away from sensing the doctor's approach, so he suddenly took the brute by surprise by launching himself and knocking them both to the ground. As hoped, the man quickly had him pinned against the soft blue carpet, so totally occupied that he failed to see the doctor move behind him or feel the needle as it penetrated his arm. A few seconds later, John felt the full weight of the brute as he collapsed across his chest.

"Wow, who was that?" John asked as he attempted to extract himself from under the body.

Dr. Ricaud bent down to give him a hand. "One of the henchmen who beat you up last night," Ricaud answered. "Are you all right?"

John righted himself and attempted to look composed as he worked the kinks out of his neck. "Apart from a few aches and pains, I'm good," he answered, shrugging the question off, but in reality he still felt like shit and having a ton weight land on him hadn't helped one bit. However, wanting to change the subject, he asked. "How long have I been asleep and how did he know I was here? Oh and how's the revolution going?"

"That's a lot of questions, Colonel. Firstly, you didn't sleep for long, a couple of hours or so. Aldrich is on the warpath and out for everyone's blood, especially yours. He must have guessed that I'd hidden you here and sent his henchman to collect you. They have the power back up, although the revolt is going better than we hoped. Our people have managed to capture several important areas and news of Tyrell's death has weakened the resolve of many citizens. Aldrich is not very popular, so we are hoping that they will soon turn against him. Nevertheless, you must come with me, as we can't stay here any longer. Aldrich is bound to send more like him eventually, so I think it's best that I take you to one of our new safe areas."

John tended to agree with him and was grateful for the man's help. On the way out of the room, John pointed to the brute and asked. "When will he wake up?"

"He won't, I gave him an overdose of Trinadin. It's a rather fast acting sedative and deadly if you get too much," the doctor answered him serenely. "But don't worry about him. Believe me, he deserved it."

John had no doubt that he did, but he was surprised by the doctor's coolness. One false move and that needle could have ended up in the doctor's skin or come to that, his.

Even though John was still hurting, they made good progress towards the lower, rebel held, control room. Sheppard recognized the area from his trips to the basement and the doctor reassured him that they shouldn't encounter any of Aldrich's people on the route he was taking them, but reassurances can sometimes fall short.

The attack when it came was sudden. One minute they were moving down a passageway, and the next, Dr. Ricaud was out cold and John was running for his life as bullets whizzing by him, too close for comfort.

The passageway eventually led John to a basement stairway that he recognized from earlier visits. He had no idea where going up would lead to, so out of desperation, he threw himself down the stairwell, stooping low to avoid the odd bullet still being fired at him. He had the vague impression that his assailant was Aldrich but he certainly didn't taken the opportunity to check that out.

Breathless and shaking with fatigue, John eventually reached the bottom. Not stopping for a second, he made a mad dash to find somewhere to hide but unfortunately, the basement offered little in the way of concealment, just a never-ending labyrinth of passageways and empty rooms.

Totally winded and unable to go any further, John flung himself behind a lonely piece of broken down machinery. It left little in the way of cover, but he desperately needed to get his breath back. A solid pain lay heavy in his chest and he vaguely wondered if he was having a heart attack. However, several minutes later it thankfully began to ease as his gasping came back under control. He tried to keep things quiet but his gasps seemed to echo around the area and he could only hope that whoever was pursuing him was suffering with the same problem.

Then he heard the voice that almost made his heart stop anyway. "I know you're here somewhere, Sheppard!" Aldrich shouted. "Show yourself and I'll put you out of your suffering, you miserable piece of filth!"

_Nice!_ John knew his situation was terrible. He was weapon less, not in the best condition and faced with a mad crazed son of a bitch. _Why do these things always happen to me? _He thought as he heard Aldrich moving closer.

-SGA-

Thirty minutes of exploration had revealed nothing to the Atlantis teams. The place seemed deserted, although Ronon had reported finding numerous fresh footprints leading away from one of the adjoining buildings.

Sanjava dome seemed to be just as lifeless as Lorne's team slowly approached the main forecourt where Sheppard and the others had landed days before. The dome's reflective material showed nothing of the activity inside but that didn't mean there wasn't any.

Keeping well hidden, the Major found a good vantage point from which to observe the main entry and everyone settled down to wait and gather intel, after Lorne radioed the other teams and told them to find strategic places and wait for his instructions.

-SGA-

John sensed that Aldrich was nearly upon him and any second now, the maniac would discover his hiding place. He could almost picture the other man's moves, so as fast a he could muster; John jumped up from behind the equipment and pushed against it with all his might sending the rusty machinery toppling over onto the lunatic. Unfortunately, it did little to harm Aldrich but it did buy John enough time to get away again.

Moving as fast as he could, John ran down various passageways trying all the time to remember where the hidden tunnel room was. Then just as he about to give up, he saw the old cabinet hiding the hole in the wall about two hundred meters up a side corridor.

Sprinting on, he skidded to a halt in front of it and checked to see how far away Aldrich was. Seeing no sign of him, John estimated that maybe he had enough time to move the cabinet, get into the room, and scramble down the tunnel before Aldrich arrived. Of course, if Aldrich wasn't far enough away and still had his gun, he could fire down the tunnel and kill him.

Really having no choice, he quickly pushed the unit aside and tried to pull it back into place once he'd crawled into the room. Then without a second thought, he dived into the tunnel and frantically began scrambling as fast he could on the rough and uneven dirt floor. Pain raked his body from old and new injuries as his hands and knees scraped against unseen obstacles, his lungs burnt with every gulping breath but he kept in his mind that every meter bought him closer to freedom and the welcome world beyond.

Just as he thought he was in the clear, he heard a sound behind him and the muffled noise of gunfire echoed through the confined space. He desperately clambered forward and tried to make himself a small a target as possible while he waited for the red-hot pain of impact, but thankfully, it never came. Instead, a muffled curse echoed up the tunnel and John realized that he must have gone further up than he'd thought. Hoping that Aldrich wouldn't follow him into the warren, he continued onwards despite his growing pain and discomfort.

An exhausting and agonizing twenty minutes later, John finally crawled out the other end. Sweat and dirt covered his aching body but the musty air of freedom was sweet to his heaving lungs. He wasn't out of the woods yet but it felt so good to be out of Sanjava.

For a while, he lay among the rubble near the tunnel exit unable to move as his racing heart and breathing came back under control. Recovery was slow, but eventually he found enough energy to stagger out of the basement to find an exit. Then he would try his hardest to locate Officer Tamar, but he knew that he would have to keep under cover and desperately hoped that Aldrich wouldn't send out security forces to look for him.

Eventually, he found his way out into daylight and the warm sun felt good on his face. Looking around he noticed quite a number of footprints leading away from the building to pass close to several other structures, so cautiously, he moved out in that direction.

-SGA-

Rodney was getting thoroughly bored with waiting. They had been observing the dome for nearly an hour and nothing had changed or come out. "Maybe, they've all left for somewhere else," he pondered aloud.

"Left to go where, Rodney?" Beckett questioned.

"How should I know but when we were here the last time there was a bit more life going on."

Lorne looked at McKay. "What about the power source, did that go out and come on all by itself?"

Rodney sighed. "No, of course not. Okay, they're probably still in there but at the moment, I don't see how we're going to get…" Rodney didn't finish his sentence as suddenly the entry opened and an well-armed group of men left the building.

Lorne quickly hit his radio to warn the others as they watched the group fan out as if in pursuit of someone. "Are they the security forces you mentioned, McKay?" he asked.

Rodney took binoculars from the Major and peered closely. "Err…no. Never seen those people before and from the looks of it they seem pity angry, especially the obnoxious one up front."

"Okay, let's stay sharp and see what they do."

-SGA-

John managed to pass several buildings before he realized that the route he was taking went awfully close to Sanjava's main entry. He looked around to see if there was an alternative route but the footprints had definitely gone this way. Determinedly, he walked for several meters before suddenly stopping dead when he thought he heard voices not too far away. Thinking quickly, he had to find shelter, so he gathered pace and moved as fast as he could towards the next building not knowing that Lorne and his team had just spotted him as he approached their hidden position.

Seeing a glimpse of the man he called a friend, Rodney grabbed the binoculars from the Major again. "That really is John Sheppard!" he proclaimed. "Looks worse for wear but that's our boy alright." Without thinking, a delighted McKay stood up and shouted. "Colonel, over here!"

John stopped in his tracks wondering who had called to him. Then his face lit up with a genuine smile as he spotted Rodney, and in his delight and need to be reunited with his friend, he forgot his caution and started to head towards him.

What happened next passed in slowed motion as John's world narrowed down to even more pain as he felt the red-hot bite of a bullet hit his back. Resolute, John staggered onwards moving towards McKay until a second bullet hit his leg, causing him stumbled over some loose rubble and fall to his knees. He began to crawl forwards, dread and agony driving him on in a desperate bid to join Rodney. A bid that fell short as the bite of another bullet left him lying motionless amongst the dirt and debris. And as the air around him erupted into gunfire, he descended into darkness.

Carson and Rodney watched in horror as John lay still after being hit a third time. They felt helpless at being unable to go to him because of the crossfire between their people and the group responsible for bringing Sheppard down. The Major had already called for back up and they knew the others would soon be here, but would it be soon enough?

Several minutes later, Ronon's powerful gun sounded from behind the other group and the gunfire started to die down. When it ceased altogether, Carson wasted no time in rushing towards the fallen man dreading what he would find. Rodney wasn't far behind him but he slowed his pace, fearful as he watched Carson place a finger against John's neck. "He's still alive but I'll definitely be needing that medical equipment now!" the doc shouted.


	10. Back To Sanjava

Part 10 – Back To Sanjava

Lorne quickly ordered three marines to go back and retrieve the medical equipment as Beckett started to assess John's wounds. With Rodney's help, he carefully slit the tunic top from the waist upwards to reveal the entry point of first bullet. Seeing the comparatively clean wound, Carson let out a small sigh of relief as the bullet had mercifully missed the spinal column completely. Ironically, the position was nearly identical to the stab wound on John's duplicate back in Atlantis only reversed, back instead of front. Gently, he turned John onto his side to look for an exit point but there wasn't one, which meant that the bullet was still lodged in there somewhere. Unable to do more for now, Carson quickly applied a sterile pressure pad to slow the bleeding, and instructed Rodney to hold it while he taped it firmly into place. Thankfully, Rodney was acting very calm and collected, only his face showed concern and stress by being much paler than normal.

Retrieving his knife, Carson began cutting through John's dirty tunic pants and once again, he was relieved to find that the second bullet appeared to have grazed John's upper thigh, it was bleeding but only required a dressing for the time being. Pealing back the rest of John's tunic top, Carson noted that bullet number three had gone straight through his left shoulder leaving a bleeding hole, so once again Beckett applied pads and finished by bandaging it up.

Fishing around in his field bag, Carson took out several syringes and quickly used one to inject a powerful painkiller and the other an antibiotic. "God only knows what germs could be laying around these ruins," he muttered to himself before letting out a loud sigh and then speaking a little louder for Rodney's benefit. "Well, it's certainly not as bad as it could have been and if we can get him to a better place for treatment, he should make it." However, just after he'd uttered those words, a commotion erupted as hordes of people started pouring from Sanjava dome and running for all their might.

Ronon, Teyla and the others moved up to join the Major's group and they all watched in horror as the people flocked passed them. Ronon lifted his gun ready to fire as did the marines but it soon became obvious that most were unarmed and frightened for their lives.

As the last group rushed out the dome, gunfire sounded from the entryway as a number of uniformed men came out behind the fleeing people and started cold bloodedly shooting down them down. "I don't like those odds," Major Lorne murmured, "Okay, let's protect those unarmed folks," he ordered as he opened fire. Seconds later, Ronon, Teyla, and the marines started bringing down the assailants.

As Rodney and Carson crouched over John as if protecting him from any more bullets, Rodney whispered fearfully. "Is he really our John Sheppard?"

Carson flashed him a serious look, as he knew what Rodney meant especially after the fiasco with the other one, so he quickly assessed Sheppard's back. "Aye, it appears so, I don't know why there's so much horrific bruising but every scar I can remember is there, plus the odd little birth mark lower down."

Rodney looked baffled. "Odd little birth mark?"

"Aye, did ya not know that the Colonel has a tiny mark on his bu…" Carson laughed softly trying to lighten the mood, "Oh, silly me, how could ya now? And I'm betting it's probably one of the things missing from that duplicate."

For a brilliant scientist Rodney was sometimes as dense as they come and it took him a good minute to cotton on. "Oh."

"Oh indeed," Carson muttered as he continued to monitor Sheppard's vitals which were currently stable, but for how long? "I wish to God this shooting would stop and the rest of my equipment was here."

As if answering Beckett's prayer, the shooting suddenly died down to the odd exchange, although it didn't stop completely. McKay eased himself up to try to assess the situation but Carson roughly pulled him back down. "Keep ya head down, Rodney, I bloody well don't need another shot up patient. I've probably got more than enough out there already."

Thankfully, a few minutes later, the shooting stopped completely as the last of the aggressors fell under the Atlantean's firepower. Without further hesitation Lorne, Ronon, and Teyla ran over the join the doctors and Sheppard. "How is he?" asked the Major before the others could, as he crouched down beside Beckett. Teyla stood behind him, composed but genuine concern etched her beautiful face, and as usual, Ronon's look was unreadable but anyone who knew him better would see his fear for Sheppard as he waited for the answer.

Beckett stood up to stretch his legs as he answered, "He's as well as can be expected under the circumstances. My main concern is shock and he has lost a fair amount of blood. Now if they come along with my equipment soon and we can find a better place, I'll have him patched up in no time. Who the hell are all those people anyway?"

The Major stood up to face the doctor. "Well, most of them seem to have run off into the ruins. I can only guess that there's been some sort of disturbance within the dome."

"Uprising," Sheppard said in a choked whisper, surprising everyone.

"John! Colonel! Sheppard!" They all called at once, as they anxiously looked towards their wounded friend or commander. Beckett crouched down again and eased him up slightly as Rodney pulled off his jacket and rolled it up under John's head. Easing him back down, Carson reassured. "Take it easy, lad. We'll have ya taken care of in no time."

John looked relieved, a warm feeling spread through him at the sight of his friends and he realized that for the first time in days he felt no real pain, which was strange because he clearly remembered being shot more than once. _Must be on the good stuff_, he thought as he felt himself graying out again but before he went under, he needed to warn them about one thing. Grabbing Carson's arm to get his attention, John whispered so softly that the doctor and Rodney had to bend over him to hear. "Be careful…of a man called…Aldrich…very…very… dangerous…madman,"

"Aye, lad, we got that. There's a dangerous madman around here called Aldrich but how do we know who he his?"

"Ask Dr. Ri…" But the words died on his lips a black void came up to greet him.

Beckett looked at Rodney and then up the worried faces around him. "Well, at least we know there's someone dangerous to look out for and we've got to look for a Dr. Ri somebody. Now where's my bloody equipment?" The doctor protested as he turned back to check on his patient.

Major Lorne looked at the others in frustration as McKay stood up and said. "Look, why don't I go with a few marines and see what's keeping the others?"

Ronon moved over to McKay. "Leave the marines to guard our people here, I'll go with you, doc."

"Well, if you're sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. Come on we're wasting time Sheppard doesn't have." Ronon pointed out. "So show me the way!"

Lorne nodded to McKay and with one last look at the friend he thought he'd lost forever, Rodney moved off to follow the big man.

It didn't take Rodney long to find his way back towards the building where Beckett's equipment had been stored. However, before they got there, the three marines looking a little worse for wear but carrying the doctor's equipment cases met them.

"We…err…ran into a little trouble." A marine called Wilkinson said. "It seems nothing is safe from these folks and we were just in time to prevent this precious gear from falling into the wrong hands."

Ronon grinned. "I hope you kicked their asses?"

"Yep, we sure did!" Wilkinson said proudly.

"Oh, come on Wilkie, there were only five of them and two were kids." Another marine put in.

McKay glared at the soldiers. "Never mind that now, Beckett needs this equipment!" he shouted pointing to the cases, "So let's go!" Sobering up and worried about their CO, the marines quickly followed Ronon and McKay.

-SGA-

After the noise and gunfire, the area around Sanjava seemed eerily quiet. Major Lorne ordered his men to hold strategic positions nearby and keep an eye on things while he stood guard with Teyla close to Beckett and the Colonel. At first, he didn't notice a small group of people approached from the building directly behind them but when he did, he went on immediate alert. Teyla quickly joined him, her P90 held steady and ready for any eventuality.

However, as the people drew nearer they could see that, although they were armed, they weren't aiming their weapons in an aggressive way. "That's far enough!" Lorne shouted. "What do you want?"

"My name is Officer Tamar. I wish to speak to you."

Lorne and Teyla exchanged a look before the Major replied. "Okay, we'll speak to you but alone. The others can stay were they are for now."

"Fair enough," Tamar answered as he walked away from his companions.

As he neared their position, Tamar looked over towards Beckett and grasped. "That is not Colonel Sheppard over there is it?"

"Yes, I'm afraid it is." Lorne answered him. "He was shot from behind by a group of men from the dome."

Tamar looked worried. "What happened to those men?" he inquired.

"We…err…shot them all." Lorne answered him not knowing if that was a good thing or not.

"Could I see their bodies?"

The Major looked at him with surprise. "Yeah, sure, I don't see why not but how about telling me what's going on here?"

"I am not a hundred percent sure myself yet, Mr...?"

"Major Lorne. Colonel Sheppard is my commanding officer."

"Really, so you must also come from this galaxy far, far, away? Tamar asked as the Major and a couple of marines started to take him over to where the fallen men lay.

The marines and Lorne exchanged a puzzled look before the Major asked. "The Colonel told you that?

Tamar nodded, yes, so the Major answered. "Yep, the same place."

It was Tamar's turn to look a little perplexed but he shrugged it off and looked at the bodies before turning his attention to Sanjava dome. "These thugs worked for a man called Aldrich therefore I presume he is still alive." His gaze went towards a couple of uniformed bodies lying not far off. "How did they die?"

"We did it." Lorne answered him. "They were shooting innocent, unarmed people."

Tamar looked towards the hapless bodies lying sprawled across the grand plaza near the entryway and nodded, muttering. "This was not the way things were supposed to work out. Let me try to see if I can get back into Sanjava. I still have my security pass and if that works then we are still in business."

"So there really has been a revolt?"

"Yes, there has." Tamar replied as he began to walk towards the entry.

"Wait a minute!" Lorne called. "At least let us cover you?"

"Thank you, that is maybe for the best." The Capellan agreed as he continued onwards.

-SGA-

Rodney, Ronon and the marines finally made it back to Beckett who let out a loud sigh of relief. "Well, at least I've got my equipment. Now all I need is a clean place to operate."

"Yeah, doc, but that's going to be a bit of a problem around here." Ronon observed as he looked at the crumbled disused buildings.

McKay looked distracted as he glazed towards the dome. "Who's that idiot trying to get back into the dome?"

Teyla answered him. "He came with those people," she said pointing to the small group that Rodney had failed to see before because they were standing well concealed near a building. "He said his name is Officer Tamar and he wished to see the bodies of the fallen. I have no idea why he is walking towards the dome but it appears that Major Lorne and several marines are covering him."

As they stood and watched, the alone man went right up to the entry and seemed to use a control pad of some kind, a few seconds later the entry opened.

Having joined Teyla to help guard his CO after the Major had left, Sgt. Macklin jumped slightly when his radio suddenly came alive. "Sergeant, select five men and come with us into the dome." The Major ordered.

"Yes, sir." Macklin acknowledged as he chose his team. Moving off, they quickly joined the others and cautiously approached the entryway.

Beckett looked up from his patient. "Now what?" he questioned. "You know, I don't want to bloody rush things here but I don't know how much longer the Colonel will hold out if I don't get that bullet out of him."

Rodney looked at him with concern and sighed. "I know how you feel, Carson, but if this works out and they get back in the dome, then at least you'll have somewhere clean to operate. If nothing else can be said about the place, it was clean."

"Aye, then, I sure hope you're right 'cause if not, I'm going to have to operate right here."

Rodney paled at the thought.

tbc


	11. Dr Beckett & Dr Ricaud At Your Service

Part 11 Dr. Beckett & Dr. Ricaud At Your Service

Lorne and the Marines made their way into the dome keeping as close to the walls as possible. Signs of destruction and fighting were visible everywhere they looked. Fortunately, the entry hall appeared deserted with only the odd blinking light from the control panels showing that the power was still up.

Office Tamar went over to another wall panel and quickly entered a code again. After a few hesitant seconds, the inner doors obediently opened for him. "It would seem that our people have gained the upper hand," he commented more to himself then the others, "Or the security codes would have been changed. Now all we have to do is find our people and hope that none of Aldrich's supporters are between them."

Lorne had a million questions to ask but right now, there wasn't the time so he kept his eyes peeled as he and his men followed Tamar deeper into Sanjava.

They made good progress as they moved rapidly towards the main control area and surprisingly, they encounter no real opposition along the way, which meant that the rebels had gained even more ground than Tamar had estimated. However, several well-armed men were positioned to protect the last corridor but as soon as they saw the rebel security officer, they lowered their guns and allowed them pass unhindered into a large control room.

A few seconds later, Tamar let out a huge cry of relief at seeing the white haired doctor. "Dr. Ricaud, it is so good to see that you are still alive my friend," he called to the older man.

Surprised to see Tamar, the doctor replied "And you too. So you managed to get back into Sanjava unhindered." Tamar just nodded at the statement. "Well," Ricaud continued, "I must say things haven't turned out quite like we anticipated. The good news is, Dr. Tyrell is dead, and the duplicates have been destroyed. The bad news, I have no idea where Aldrich has disappeared to and I fear that Colonel Sheppard has been killed. Most of the citizens fled some time ago but we have now taken the main control areas, which only leaves a small group of Aldrich's man who are currently putting up some resistance in sector five." Suddenly pointing to Major Lorne and the others as if having just noticed them, he questioned. "Who are these men?"

"Friends of Colonel Sheppard's and he is not dead. However, he has been badly shot up outside the dome and is in need of urgent medical attention." Tamar replied.

Ricaud looked flabbergasted. "He's still alive and outside Sanjava?" Both Tamar and Lorne nodded. "How did he manage that?" the doctor pondered. "All right then, you'd better get someone to bring him to our hospital unit. Then I'll come along to treat him."

Lorne looked at the white haired man. "We'll appreciate the hospital, Dr. Ricaud but we've bought our own doctor with us, he's caring for the Colonel right now."

"Oh really?" Ricaud answered, seeming rather peeved. "All the same, I would like to be there and I have many questions to ask you people but first let's get him safely inside." Turning to an assistant, he ordered. "Pencovich, you go with these people and show them the way to the hospital unit once they have collected Colonel Sheppard."

-SGA-

Leaving most of the Marines to guard the dome's entrance, Lorne, McKay, Teyla, and Ronon carefully carried the still unconscious Sheppard on a stretcher as Dr. Ricaud's assistant took them and Carson towards the hospital unit.

Fifteen minutes later, a grateful Beckett finally brought John into a surprisingly well-equipped and clean hospital. Carson noted that the area divided into many small and comfortable rooms with no more than three beds each. Most rooms appeared to be fully occupied with wounded rebels. The staff seemed efficient as they went about aiding them.

Dr. Ricaud must have sent a message instructing his staff to have John placed in the main operating theater. The others, except for Carson, were shown to a rather plush and comfortable waiting area. Immediately, upon arrival, McKay promptly asked for something to eat.

Once John was taken into the OP, Carson quickly began to retrieve his instruments and look for a place scrub-up. A pleasant young nurse showed him into a side room and without delay, Carson began to wash and prepare for the coming operation, all the time hoping that there wasn't going to be a conflict between him and this doctor, what ever his name was.

The scrub-up area, like many on Earth, was separated from the theater by a large glass panel thus enabling him to watch as the staff stripped John of his clothes. Carson was glad that Sheppard was out of it because these people didn't seem to care too much about modesty as they left him butt naked as they washed off the blood and dirt.

Beckett was already clad in his surgical gloves and gown, when a middle-aged man came rushing through the door. "Ah…you must be their doctor!" he called. "I'm Dr. Ricaud. Just give me a minute while I clean up. What are we dealing with anyway?" Carson went ahead and described John's wounds. "So we are dealing with one bullet still lodged. Okay, we will get the scanner out to locate the bullet's position. I wanted to scan him anyway but obviously, there has not been time. They gave him quite a beating last night and I was very concerned about kidney damaged and possibly a splintered rib or two. Then of course, it seems he had to go and crawl all the way up a long tunnel even after I warned him not too. Mind you, why he did that is going to be interesting to know, but I have a feeling that Aldrich was somehow involved." The man went on and on reminding Carson of a certain other doctor in a room not so far away. "Has he lost a lot of blood?" Ricaud finished.

"Aye, about as much as you'd expect from three bullet wounds, so he's going to need at least two to three units." Carson answered. "His blood group is…"

"That is really not important, Dr…err?"

"Dr. Beckett," Carson supplied, "Why's it not important?"

"Because we already have a good supply of blood suitable for John Sheppard." Ricaud left it at that as he finished washing. "Right let's go and see what for mess the man has made of himself, shall we?"

Carson had to smile. Surprisingly, he was beginning to like the doctor. "Aye, why don't we do just that and believe me, it's not the first time."

"I can imagine!"

Just as Dr. Ricaud said that, a nurse came rushing into the room and shouted. "Doctor he is showing signs of distress!"

Both doctors looked at each other for a second before hastening from the scrub up area into theater where a sense of controlled panic greeted them.

It took Ricaud a second to assess the situation. Carson was a bit stumped for a moment as he tired to interpret what the foreign monitoring equipment was indicating. However, it didn't take him long to realize that John's heart was failing.

A horrible sense of Déjà vu ripped through the Scotsman as Ricaud shouted orders to his staff. Pleased to see that John was already on a respirator, Carson took out his stethoscope and stood over Sheppard to listen intently to his heart. He didn't like what he heard. Lifting his head, he called. "He needs that blood now and have a defibrillator on stand by."

Not really knowing exactly what the alien doctor was referring to, the staff did set up the blood transfusion.

Ricaud looked a little peeved as Beckett straightened. "I think for the Colonel's sake we must make an effort to work together, Dr. Beckett."

"Aye, I agree with ya but his heart doesn't sound at all good to me and he could go into massive failure at any moment."

"Yes, I am aware that. We have administered several drugs to help with the problem and I have a machine that can restart the heart on stand-by." Ricaud stated as Beckett glance towards the indicated unit. It was certainly bigger than Earth's equivalent but no doubt, just as efficient.

As the doctors waited to see if John stabilized, Carson turned to Ricaud and looked a little sheepish. "Ya have to excuse me but I am a little anxious for the Colonel's well being."

"That's quite understandable, Dr. Beckett. Were you the one who had to deal with his duplicate?"

Carson simply nodded. "Aye, he died on me and nothing I did changed that. I thought I'd lost a good friend forever and now I've got him back, I don't want to lose him again."

"We will not lose him." Unfortunately, just as Ricaud said that John's heart failed.

An alarm tone rang throughout the room as the doctors and staff went about preparing the equipment. Ricaud did the actual shocking and as he applied the pads, John's body lifted slightly. The first attempt produced no improvement, so they set the machine to a higher level and tried again. This time the alarm went quiet and Beckett was able to listen with his stethoscope. Straightening, he smiled and stated. "Much stronger and normal rhythm. I suggest we wait a few minutes and if nothing changes, we get that bullet out of him as quickly as we can."

"Agreed." Dr. Ricaud answered. "I'll get the scanner ready."

-SGA-

Two hours later, both doctors sat relaxing, as best they could, over the Capellan equivalent of a nice cup of tea. It tasted rather like the good old brew that Carson knew from home but with a slight hint of vanilla…or something like that.

Just as Carson brought the cup to his lips, Rodney, Ronon, Teyla and Lorne entered the room. Looking concerned, Rodney asked. "How is he?" before the others could speak.

"Bloody lucky to be still alive." Beckett answered.

Ricaud nodded. "I'll second that. That man certainly knows how to make a mess of himself."

Carson smiled. "Aye that he does."

"Yes, yes," Rodney muttered, "We all know that, but how is he?"

Carson looked at his fellow Atlanteans. "I'll be perfectly honest, it was touch and go for a while. We nearly lost him a couple of times. Once before the bullet was removed and once after," Beckett told them. "The bullet proved more difficult to extract than anticipated as it was situated dangerously close to a kidney. I'm telling ya, I'm damn grateful that I didn't have to remove it outside because I'll be honest, I'm sure he would have died." Carson paused and ran a weary hand across his aching brow before continuing. "On top of that, he had several cracked ribs, was dehydrated, and as you all know, shot two other times, which naturally caused moderate blood loss. He was also suffering some kidney failure from the severe bruising in that area. We've done the best we can but the rest is up to John. I have no doubt that he will make a full recovery but he's going to need plenty of TLC for a week or so. He's currently in intensive care but if you'd like to look in on him, I'm sure Dr. Ricaud won't mind."

"Not at all. I'll have a nurse show you the way. However, please don't stay long as he really isn't up to it and if you could come back here afterwards, I think we have a few things to straighten out."

"Yes that would be a good idea." Rodney spoke up for the others. Anyone nodded and filed out of the room when a nurse entered to show them the way.

Twenty minutes later, the team came back into the room after their quick visit to Sheppard. Officer Tamar had joined the doctors and they waited patiently until everyone managed to find a seat and an assistant offered them drinks.

After everyone settled down, Dr. Ricaud and Tamar filled the Atlanteans in on what had occurred before and after the revolt. At least as best, they could.

When they'd finished, McKay spoke up. "So, let's just summarize the events. You've been planning this uprising for five years because you'd had enough of the two mad scientists pushing you around. We came along and Tyrell fancied John, so she made us a copy of him, which we took home. Err…it didn't last very long by the way."

Everyone smiled at that. "Good job it didn't." Rodney pondered aloud before continuing. "Yeah, right, now where was I? Oh, yes, you saw his being here as a sign to revolt and your tunnel was ready anyway. Thereby, Tamar, you and a few others escaped down it but John was nabbed before he could go with you by an angry and jealous Aldrich. Tyrell then got mad at Aldrich for pinching her pet Ancient, which by the way he is not. Dr. Ricaud you then shot Tyrell dead, grabbed Sheppard, took him to the labs, and pulled the power plug, which enabled us to get to the planet." Ricaud nodded and Rodney went on. "That killed the clones and the revolution got under way. Then you got hit on the head and lost Sheppard while taking him to safety and I think we know the rest."

"Yes, a very good summary, Dr. McKay, but we can only speculate as to what really happened between Aldrich and Sheppard, and unfortunately, Aldrich has not been found yet and can still be a danger to us all," Jonas Tamar added. "I am happy to report that sector five has now been taken, which is really good news and soon our people can start to come back home. As for your ship, I think it is wise to leave it where it is. We cannot afford to lower the power again as that could destroy all our remaining crops and leave us open to a possible Wraith attack. You have been able to contract with your ship, haven't you?"

Lorne spoke up. "Yes, we managed to contract them several hours ago and they're standing by for further instructions. But how do we get home if you can't find the gate control crystals?"

"Don't worry, we'll find them somewhere or someone will tell us eventually. I can't understand why she had them removed?" Tamar murmured.

"To stop us from coming to get Colonel Sheppard back," Teyla simply answered.

Jonas smiled at her. "Yes, of course, my dear. Therefore, until we find the crystals and while the Colonel recovers, you are our most welcome guests. We will show you to suitable rooms and please feel free to explore Sanjava. That goes for your men outside as well."

"We'd like to help wherever we can?" Lorne put in and everyone agreed.

"Thank you that would be most appreciated."

-SGA-

The next days went by in a buzz of activity for everyone as the Atlanteans helped the people of Capella to recover. It wasn't going to be easy for them after centuries of rule under the two crazy dictators. Although, they were a resourceful bunch and would probably do fine.

McKay was in his element discovering new toys and helping to repair their equipment, during the time he wasn't keeping a vigil by John's bed. Teyla and Ronon also took their turn at sitting with John between working with Lorne, and the marines to help wherever they could around the dome. Dr. Beckett naturally continued to keep a good eye on Sheppard as well as helping Dr. Ricaud with many other patients.

However, the precious gate crystals were still missing and everyone began to get a little frustrated.

-SGA-

John was dreaming of a long white corridor that went on and on without a break. At one end, a bright light beckoned him forward and at the other came hordes of Wraith moving towards him all laughing, taunting him, calling him names, with hands held high ready to plunge into his chest as their faces morphed into Aldrich's mad visage.

John screamed and partially opened his eyes to come face to face with a very concerned Carson Beckett. "My goodness, lad, that's one way to come back to awareness. Bad dream?"

Sheppard looked at him in total confusion. He couldn't really remember where he was for a minute. Carson was here, but here wasn't the infirmary in Atlantis where he was used to waking up. There were no plain cream walls in Atlantis or a picture of…? His eyes focused on it and he tried to decide just what the picture depicted and then it suddenly came back to him, he was still in Sanjava.

He returned his gaze to Carson and attempted to speak but his voice came out weak and croaky. Beckett reached for a drinking cup with a built in straw and let John take a few sips to clear his throat. "Didn't expect…to see…you…again, doc."

Beckett felt the same way especially after all that John had suffered and with the other Sheppard still lying in the morgue back in Atlantis. "Aye, it was close but that guardian angel helped ya again, lad. Ya took three bullets but thankfully, they all missed anything vital. Most of your troubles stem from that beating they gave ya but that's clearing up as well now. You'll be as right as rain in a few weeks time."

"That's good…to hear." John was tiring but he needed to know a few more things before drifting again. "Is everyone ok? And how did…things go?"

Carson smiled at him thinking that's definitely our John. "Things have gone fine. Sanjava is now in the hands of the rebels and our people have been helping to restore things," Although, he decided to leave out the bit about Aldrich still being unaccounted for, "Rodney's in his element helping the engineers…" Carson stopped as he noticed that John had gone under again. So checking his vitals, he murmured. "Welcome back, lad and sleep well."

Carson looked up to see the pretty nurse who'd been attending to John's care smile at him. "He will be all right won't he, doctor. I mean, it was dreadful what Aldrich and Tyrell did to him?"

Carson returned her smile as he sat himself back down to continued his turn at keeping watch over John. "Aye, lass, it was but he'll be fine now."

tbc


	12. Will This Ever End?

Part 12 Will This Ever End?

Over the next days, John's world was a constant yo-yo from feeling like hell to halfway believing that things were finally getting better. However, for every improvement something seemed to turn up to set him back. The list of problems could have filled a medical journal back on Earth.

During the periods when he had been able to stay awake for more than a few minutes at a time, Rodney and Carson had filled him in on everything that had occurred. John had been devastated to learn the events concerning his duplicates death, the fact that Aldrich was still at large and that the gate crystals were missing, meaning that they where stuck here for the time being.

This news had done nothing to help the nightmarish dreams that had plagued his mind during the periods of much needed sleep. It became such a problem that in the end, Carson had forced him to take some medication. Surprisingly, it had helped and the healing process had finally begun.

-SGA-

On the seventh morning of his hospital confinement, John had just finished a surprisingly good breakfast when Carson breezed in to check on him. "How's our patient doing this morning?" he asked, grabbing an old-fashioned chart from the bottom of John's bed.

"We are doing fine." John smiled, looking at the other patient in the room. An unfortunate man who had got in the way of crossfire and ended up with a bullet in his leg.

Without a word, Carson crossed over and took the other man's chart. "Aye, I can see that. Kidney function normal, temperature normal, BP's fine, no sign of infection, so you should be out of here by tomorrow if Dr. Ricaud agrees, Mr. Manson."

Manson looked relieved. "Oh, that's good to hear, I'm anxious to get back to the family."

"Aye, I'm sure ya are."

John looked downcast. "And me?" he called out like a little boy missing out on some birthday cake.

Carson moved back to stand over John's bed and consulting his chart, he related. "Kidney function getting there but still a less than satisfactory urine output, temperature no hotter than normal, BP no higher than normal for you, oh sorry, I was thinking of Rodney. Actually, your BP is a little elevated, was it the pretty blond nurse who measured it?"

Before John could answer, Mr. Manson piped up. "It most certainly was and she can certainly make the Colonel blush."

Carson smiled. "Can she indeed?" John went slightly red and Carson couldn't decide if it was from embarrassment or annoyance. "Well, I'd better recheck your BP to make sure its back to normal." With that, he fished out his own instrument and proceeded to check it. "Well, that seems to be better now, so it must have been the nurse."

John used this positive note and turning sorrowful puppy dog eyes towards his doctor friend, he pleaded. "So when can I get out, Carson?"

Carson looked at him for a moment, lost in thought as he met John's eyes. Then it occurred to him, something that he should have noticed immediately when faced with the rather poor copy of his friend. The soul that made John what he was, his very inner being had been sourly missing in the duplicate and he suddenly felt like giving John a hug just for being there and being himself. It also made him want to give John something positive, so against his own better judgment, Carson stated. "Well, you're not well enough yet to go wondering the halls by yourself but I'll see if they've got some form of wheelchair to take ya out for a ride."

That was the best that John could hope for under the circumstances, so he relented. "I guess that's better than nothing."

An hour later, the pretty nurse who had measured John's BP earlier came bustling in to get him ready for his first outing outside his hospital room. When the nurse finished helping him to dress in some kind of bathrobe made of a material not unlike silk, she called for someone to bring in what John thought would be a conventional wheelchair.

Instead, Ronon and Teyla came carefully in with a hoverchair, which they glided towards the bed. "Your transport awaits you, sir." Teyla said with a beaming smile.

Looking on in amazement, John allowed Ronon help him over to the chair and get comfortable. After studying the controls for a few minutes, John eyes lit up with joy as he commented, "Wow, this is cool." Taking control of the chair, he carefully glided it out of the room.

It didn't take long for the pilot to get the hang of things, forcing Ronon and Teyla to trot behind him in order to keep up.

They soon found their way to a balcony overlooking the large entryway. John stopped and looked towards the outside world for the first time in what felt like weeks, apart from the couple of hours before he'd been shot. "How long has it been since we first arrived on Capella?"

"Three of your standard weeks, Colonel," Teyla answered him.

John felt a suddenly wave of dizziness. "It feels longer. You know, at one stage I never thought I'd see you guys again."

"Believe me, Col…err…John, we thought the same." Teyla replied as she squeezed his hand.

"Glad we got ya back, Sheppard." Ronon growled as close to emotion as the big Satedan could come. "I kind of missed having you around."

John turned and looked at them. "Thanks. And now all we have to do is find those blasted crystals and then we can all go home."

Ronon nodded. "We'll find them or they'll have to switch the damn power off so we can beam back up to the Daedalus."

"I think they're afraid the Wraith will come if they power down a second time." John commented. He hated to admit it but he was beginning to tire already and he felt somewhat lightheaded. "It's been great but I think I'll go back to my room now."

Teyla looked at him with concern. "Can you drive or do you want us to control the chair?"

"No, its ok, thanks. I ain't tired enough to let you two drive with a remote control." Saying no more, John lightly touched the controls and turned back towards the hospital.

-SGA-

The next day, he felt somewhat fitter for a longer trip out and accompanied once again by Teyla and Ronon, he decided to pay Rodney a visit, wherever he was. However, this time he'd persuaded the nurse to let him dress in something a little less like an invalid, so she had found him a new tunic top and pants in a light blue. The nurse had smiled at him and had commented that blue was definitely his color.

In a surprisingly cheerful mood, John eventually found McKay with his elbows deep in the innards of some machinery. "Wow, Rodney that looks even more complicated than anything we have at home."

Rodney jumped when he first heard John speak and came out of his awkward position rubbing his arm with an exaggerate movement as he cursed, "My god, Sheppard, what are you trying to do, give me a heart attack or something?"

John looked a little sheepish but heck, it was so good to feel a whole bit better and have his friends around. "Sorry, I got a little over enthusiastic. We're good, right?"

Rodney relented seeing his friend's happy mood. "Yes, we're...great and it's good to see you looking more like your old self."

"Yeah, for the first time in days I feel fine. Yep, real good but I'll be even better once we can go home."

"I think that goes for us all, Colonel." Teyla spoke up. "I for one will be happy to see my people and friends again but for you it will be even more of a joy."

John's mood faded a little when he thought about the other John Sheppard probably still lying in the morgue. Deep in his retrospect, he didn't notice that Major Lorne had entered the room and had everyone's attention. Suddenly, his mood darkened even more as he caught the words Wraith and Hive ship. "What's going on, Major?" he asked, coming up to the others.

Everyone turned to look at him as Lorne reported. "Apparently, the Daedalus has just pickup a Hive ship entering the system. It's still far out but on its present course it will be here in two days time. The Daedalus will continue to monitor the situation."

John exchanged a look with Rodney and nodded as Officer Tamar, Dr. Ricaud and a senior engineer by the name of Baltar walked in. "Ah…Colonel it's good to see you looking better!" Tamar called. "We have just heard about your ship picking up a Wraith hive…"

Baltar rudely interrupted him before he could say more. "I can assure everyone, the defense system is up and operational, but I suggest you contact your ship and warn them away. I would hate them to get caught up and destroyed by error."

"Are you absolutely sure the system will defend this planet against a Hive ship?" Rodney asked. "I mean it's been a while since it was last tested."

Tamar and Baltar looked at him as if he'd gone completely mad. "Have faith, Dr. McKay." Baltar reassured.

Rodney went to open his mouth but John spoke up before he could. "All the same, I think we'd better be prepared just in case." _Not that we could do much against a Hive_, he thought

"If you think it's necessary, Colonel." Tamar answered. "We'll seal Sanjava again and increase the shielding, and as before, nothing can get in or out."

Nobody was too thrilled with the idea of that, as they didn't want to be stuck here forever if the Wraith did get through and took up residence in the city. John looked at everyone in turn. "Okay, I guess we have no choice. I'd like to get in touch with Colonel Caldwell so where's the transmission room?"

Baltar and Rodney spoke at once. "I'll take you there." "I'll show you."

John smiled at the two men realizing that although he didn't know Baltar, he did seem the Rodney type. That's all he needed to be stuck in a dome with two McKays. "Alright why don't you both show me?"

It didn't take long to get to the transmission area and as John settled his hoverchair in front of the console, Rodney contacted the Daedalus for him and John heard the controller saying. "It's good to hear that Colonel Sheppard is feeling better."

John took over the mike. "Thanks for that, Captain. Can I speak to Colonel Caldwell, please?"

"Yes, of course, sir, patching you through."

Caldwell's no nonsense voice soon came over the comm.. "I'm glad to hear you're still in one piece, Colonel, what can we do for you?"

John wasn't too sure Caldwell was really glad that he was in one piece or not but he let it pass. The others had told him it was Caldwell's idea to come for him in the Daedalus, so he decided to be polite and on his best behavior, for once. "Thank you, Colonel. What's the status of the Hive ship? Is still the same?"

"Yes, it is."

"Okay, our planetary friends here are concerned about the Daedalus and suggest that you evacuate the area until the Wraith ship is dealt with."

Caldwell hesitated. Surely, the defense system wasn't that powerful. However, destruction of the Daedalus and its crew would be a devastating thing for Atlantis and the whole Stargate program, so he relented. "All right, we'll retreat to the outer system and keep an eye on things with our long range sensors."

"That's good to hear," Sheppard replied. With nothing more to say, he signed off. Suddenly feeling rather weary, he stifled a yawn.

Teyla looked at him concerned by how pale and drawn he still appeared. "I think you should go and have a rest now, Colonel. Ronon, Major Lorne, and I can deal with the security forces and arrange for some defense strategies should the system fail."

It was really the last thing that John wanted. He liked to be the one keeping a breast of things and doing the organizing but this time around, he knew he wasn't fit enough. He had two days to get stronger just in case things went wrong and they had to defend Sanjava, so he reluctantly agreed to go back to the hospital unit.

The way from the transmission room back to the hospital took them through a quiet and more secluded section of engineering. Little did they know that a pair of eyes watched their progress. Eyes full of hatred and malicious intent in a mind beyond reason and totally, completely, mad.

tbc. (Don't forget to please review)


	13. The Force Isn't With You

Part 13 The Force Isn't With You

Over the next couple of days, the activity in Sanjava was one of high tension as everyone went about their duties or activities as best they could, although the leaders continued to reassure everyone that they would be safe.

However, they continually declined to reveal how the system worked. Ultimately, this refusal convinced McKay that they didn't really know how it worked themselves, which added little to the Atlanteans confidence in the system.

Because of this lack of knowledge, Sheppard worked extra hard to gain back his strength but it was going to be a long haul before he was one hundred percent fit again. He could now walk for short distances but soon tired if he tried to do too much at once. Therefore, if he wanted to go for longer trips, he still used the hoverchair.

As the hour of the Wraith ship's arrival approached, the atmosphere in the dome grew even tenser. Sanjava was again sealed from the outside world and all the citizens where now safely relocated back inside, except for the lawless element out in the city suburbs. An attempt to contact them had failed, so they had no choice but to leave them on their own.

The Hive's approach was schedule for midnight, meaning that no one would be sleeping soundly tonight.

Alone in his hospital room, John attempted to rest on top of his bed as the doctors still refused to release him. However, he intended to go and join the others in the control room when the time drew closer, so he was still dressed in his blue tunic. Off in the dimness, he could just make out the silhouette of the hoverchair parked nearby, ready, and waiting. On the night table sat a borrowed 9mm from Major Lorne and near his side on the bed, he kept a P90 that someone had given up in favor of a local weapon, and his trusty knife.

Glancing at the clock Dr. Ricaud had loaned him, John groaned as he noted that it was still a good hour short of midnight. He calculated the time it would take him to get to the control room using the chair and realized that he still had a good thirty minutes or so to kill. He would have gone already but he'd promised Beckett that he would get some much needed rest before arriving, and as the good doctor was probably in the control room by now, John didn't want to earn his wrath by turning up too early. Therefore, he dozed while keeping one ear alert for any sound or so he thought but when the attack came, it took him completely by surprise as someone violently dragged from his bed, vividly reminding him of the time before.

For a second, he thought the Wraith must have taken over and he'd slept through the whole event but his attacker didn't smell like one. In fact, he smelt far worse as a waft of stale body odor and bad breath assaulted his nostrils. In the dim light, he could make out a pair of wild mad eyes staring at him as strong hands gripped his throat in a strangle hold. John fought and kicked out, trying desperately to dislodge the hands but the gripe only tightened until John felt dizzy and weak from lack of air.

In the back of his mind, he dimly thought that he couldn't go like this. He wasn't ready to die just yet, not after surviving all that had been thrown at him so far and he certainly didn't want his friends to find his lifeless corpse rotting away on the hospital floor.

John's vision was starting to diminish as blood pounded in his head and he felt a fiery pain in his chest from lack of oxygen but out of the corner of his eye, he saw that the remote control for the hoverchair was lying on the floor. Turning his head slightly, he struggled to reach out for it but only succeeded in pushing it further away from his grasp.

Frustrated, he truly wished that he were a Jedi like the one Rodney had implied a while back now. Well, he may not have the Force but he did have plenty of willpower and a great deal of stubbornness, so with one frantic surge of energy he didn't really have, John managed to shove his attacker over a bit. The hands loosened their grip but still stayed persistently around his abused neck. However, the movement brought them closer to the remote. Stabbing blindly at the controls with his left hand, John pushed what he hoped was the forward button and was rewarded when the chair shot up and rushed towards them, knocking the maniac off his chest. Gasping for air, John scrambled up and painfully staggered towards the bed to grab his P90, but the weight of his assailant, as he landed on his back, pushed him back down to land roughly on the hard floor.

Once again, the coarse hands grabbed him around his neck and forced his chin back at an angle that threatened to snap his neck. Genuine fear shot through John's mind and drove him to reach behind in a desperate bid to dislodge the hands as he tried to stab his assailant in the face with his fingers. Something must have connected as he felt a warm drip fall onto his hand followed by a cry of rage and pain, but it only served to make his attacker angrier as the hands moved to his throat again, squeezing dangerously tight.

-SGA-

Up in the control room, Rodney looked at his watch. Another six minutes and the Hive would be over the planet. He was mildly surprised that Sheppard hadn't turned up yet and that he'd actually listened to Beckett for once.

As if reading his mind, Carson turned to him and spoke his thoughts. "I wonder what's keeping the Colonel. It's certainly not like him to miss something as important as a possible Wraith attack?"

McKay at looked vaguely towards the entry, "Probably gone to sleep."

"Ah…come on, Rodney, ya know he'd 'ave to be tied down and anaesthetized before that would happen."

"Well, it's nearly too late anyway. We have about five minutes to find out if their defense systems are as good as they claim."

Carson nodded grimly but he was also worried about his patient. "I don't think ya really need me here, so I'll go and check to see what's keeping the Colonel and if he really has gone to sleep."

"Okay, but you'll miss all the fun."

"Aye, but its fun I can well do without, thank you, especially if it doesn't work out." Without saying another word, Carson quietly slipped from the room just as everyone gathered around the monitors.

Moving quickly through the very silent passageways, Beckett entered the hospital area, which seemed quieter than normal. Over by the station, he saw no sign of the staff that should have been on night duty and wondered if they had an emergency on their hands. He just hoped to god it wasn't anything to do with Sheppard.

Approaching cautiously, Beckett suddenly saw an arm stretched out on the floor and his inner alarm went on full alert just as the most horrendous noise rumbled throughout Sanjava. "Oh, bloody heck," he muttered as he went about checking the unconscious nurse he found lying behind the desk and several others the located in a nearby treatment room.

-SGA-

Down the corridor, things weren't improving for Sheppard. Miraculously, he was still alive and he'd managed to push his assailant off his back. However, his knife must have fallen off the bed and onto the floor, and somehow, the maniac had found it.

Scrambling away, John tried to make a desperate bid for the door but he didn't get far before a hand grabbed his ankle and he saw the glint of metal rise above him ready to strike. Calling on his last ounce of strength, Sheppard kicked out with his right foot and got lucky as he heard a soft thud as his assailant hit the wall just as another deafening rumble echoed throughout the dome.

John's attacker recovered quickly and lunged again, pushing him violently onto the floor. Then pinning John's right arm under his knee, the brute raised the knife ready to plunge it into John's vulnerable chest. Having only his left hand free, Sheppard desperately gripped the knife holding hand, trying to keep it from striking but his strength was fading very fast as he felt pain and tremors pulsate up his arm. Although he could now breathe easier, he knew he couldn't take much more of this, so he almost resigned himself to the inevitable. He almost became ready to give up and allowed the peace of death to strike but several wet drops of moisture landed onto his face and a memory flared, as he registered whom his attacker truly was – Aldrich. Another drop landed near his nose and he dearly wanted to wipe the offending substance away but couldn't. Then John dimly become aware of something else, Aldrich was also losing his strength as it became slightly less of an effort to keep the knife wheeling hand away, but the brute still only needed one strike in the right place and it would be all over for him.

Suddenly taking John by surprise, Aldrich broke free of his grip and brought his arm up high ready to strike just as the dome once again resounded with another deafening noise. Taking advantage of this slight distraction, John gave one last desperate shove against Aldrich's chest. It was feeble but enough to unbalance the maniac, causing him to toppled onto his side with a thump.

As quickly as he could, John rolled his weary body under the bed and pulled himself upright on the other side with an effort born of perseverance. Having no time to rest, John frantically scrambled around in the dark gloom trying to locate either of his guns and sighed in relief when his hand finally brushed against the P90. Bringing it up rapidly, John tried to make out his assailant not realizing that the man was now standing directly behind him until he felt the touch of Aldrich's putrid breathe on his neck. In a blink of an eye, John bought his gun up and rammed the butt into Aldrich's stomach. Then turning on his heel, he let off a single bullet, which impaled the fanatic's chest, spewing blood everywhere.

Staggering away from the corpse, John fell back onto the bed with a jolt just as Carson rushed into the room and threw on the light switch. Taking in John's blood soaked and prostrate appearance, the doctor cried. "Oh, bloody hell, not again!"

Gradually sitting up, Sheppard squinted at Beckett in the sudden overly bright room. "Its ok, doc! It's not mine, belongs to that freakin' maniac over there."

Beckett let out an audible of sigh of relief as Sanjava echoed with a quieter rumble. They both glazed up towards the ceiling as if expecting to find the answer there.

Then suddenly with an effort that surprised Beckett, John found enough strength to stagger over the nearby hoverchair and sit down. Securing his weapon, he brought it to life and started to glide out of the room.

Beckett looked on in disbelief as Sheppard maneuvered away. "Where do ya think you're going, Colonel?" he shouted after him. "Ya can't go looking like you do!"

"I don't have time for niceties, doc! I have to know what's going on!" Sheppard shouted back as he hovered past a few shocked patients, woken up by all the noise.

Beckett didn't follow him at first as he reassured the people and told them to go back to their beds. Other medical personnel began to arrive to deal with the wounded staff, so Beckett warned. "Don't go into room 206 until the security people have arrived. It's not a pretty sight." He then grabbed some clean clothes and his small field kit, and rushed after his fellow Atlantean.

John slowed as he approached the control room and looked down at himself. Maybe he should have taken a little time to change his tunic top but it was too late for that now. Moreover, it certainly wouldn't make any difference if the Wraith were about to beam in. Apprehensively, he entered the control room and found everyone in organized calm until they saw him, of course.

Rodney turned and pulled a sick face. "Oh my god, Sheppard, that is so gross!"

Teyla rushed up. "Colonel, are you all right? Ronon moved to stand by him, weapon at the ready as if he expected to defend Sheppard against a marauding mob.

John scowled at McKay. "Well, at least some folks care. I'm fine thank you, Teyla, Ronon. I had a little run in with an old friend, but that's not important right now. What's been happening about the Wraith?"

Engineer Baltar moved over to him just as Beckett arrived on the scene. "It went as we predicted, Colonel Sheppard. Our defense systems are as good as the day our ancestors installed them. The Hive ship met its end before it even managed to launch a single dart. The escort cruisers were also taken out, but we let one escape to get the word out that Capella is a dangerous place to visit."

"And all that noise?" John's ears were still ringing from the din and his near strangulation.

Baltar looked slightly smug. "That was the Death Bringer. I'm afraid it was as noisy as the history books tell us."

John wanted to know more but Beckett was hovering over him. "Now that ya know things are safe, can we please get ya checked over and cleaned up?" Sheppard reluctantly nodded in agreement. "Right, is there a washroom near here somewhere?" Carson asked.

Baltar suddenly looked alarmed as if noticing Sheppard's state for the first time. "It's just two doors down on the left hand side," he pointed, "Whose blood is that anyway?"

As they started to leave, John called out. "Alexei Aldrich's!"

Baltar looked astounded and muttered. "It's a wonder he's still alive."

TBC Thanks for your reviews. Hope you liked this little bit of Shep whumping?


	14. Sleeping Beauty

Part 14 – Sleeping Beauty

Although, the night was far from over and he still had a milliard of questions to ask, John had to admit that he would need his bed as soon as Beckett finished checking him over.

The doctor complained bitterly over every new bruise or scrape but John kept reminding him that it really wasn't his fault. Carson was most concerned about the dreadful pressure marks around John's neck but muttered something about him being bloody lucky that nothing was broken.

As soon as Beckett finished, he wanted to take Sheppard back to the hospital unit but John reminded him that his room was hardly inhabitable and he wanted to stay near the transmission center, so they compromised and found a comfortable sofa in an office not far from the control room.

Teyla volunteered to go back for some blankets. She softly smiled to herself when she returned thirty minutes later, as John was already fast asleep. So quietly unfolding several covers, she carefully placed them on his sleeping form before settling herself down onto a nearby chair to watch over him.

-SGA-

The morning came quick enough and being at the top of Sanjava, light filtered in through the milliard of crystal panels. Teyla stretched, and although she hadn't intended to sleep, she reluctantly admitted to herself that she had.

Looking towards the Colonel, she smiled at the sight of a disheveled tuft of dark hair sticking up from under the covers but nothing more could be seen of him. Then she noticed that it wasn't exactly warm in the room, so she tiptoed out to find some nice hot tea for John and herself.

Teyla returned fifteen minutes later with two piping hot mugs and she set them down near the sofa on a low-lying table. The Colonel still slept on and she was now reluctant to disturb him, although it was later than she'd thought and everyone else was up and about. Therefore, there was nothing for it because the Colonel would be angry if he overslept.

However, just as she was about to wake him, Rodney came bustling into the room and even though sleep deprived himself, he seemed to be full of the joys of spring. "Hey, sleepyhead," he bellowed towards Sheppard, "Colonel Caldwell wants to speak to you."

John's bleary face peeked from under the blanket, trying to focus on McKay. "What the hell time is it?" he croaked.

"Err…way past getting up time in anyone's book but seeing as you're a sick man, we'll forgive you." Rodney muttered.

"Oh…crap, I feel like hell this morning. What does Caldwell want anyway?"

Teyla and Rodney exchanged a surprised look, for Sheppard to admit that then he must really be ailing. Teyla moved over to him and placed a hand on his forehead. "Have you got a fever?" she asked.

"No, it's my throat."

Rodney gave him a critical glance, and deciding that John really didn't look all that great, a not often seen but much softer side of McKay emerged when he suggested. "Look, I'll put Caldwell off."

John reluctantly sat up and pushed the blankets aside. "No, you're not." Saying no more, he pushed himself up and staggered towards the transmission room, which thankfully wasn't too far away. Concerned, Teyla watched him go and then went to find Dr. Beckett. McKay stayed one-step behind Sheppard ready to support him if necessary.

The short trip to the transmission room seemed like the New York marathon to Sheppard and he breathed a sigh of relief when he finally arrived. Dizzily, John made a beeline for the transmitter but unexpectedly, Rodney suddenly rushed in front of him, nearly causing John to collide with the scientist as the man started to call up the Daedalus. Caldwell's voice came on a few seconds late and the usually calm Colonel seemed excited. "Is Sheppard there yet?" he asked.

"I'm here, Colonel." John managed to get out, although it was a little above a whisper.

"I got that but the transmission isn't very good. Could you speak a little louder?" Caldwell requested.

"I'll try," John croaked, clearing his throat. "But I've got a really bad throat and I've nearly lost my voice."

"Oh, sorry to hear that, I'll just tell you what we observed last night and then I want to you to find out as much as you can about their defense system. We could really do with something like that." Caldwell announced, but Rodney was really pissed. "He could have told me this," he mouthed to John. "Military." John mouthed back.

Caldwell went on and on to describe how the Hive ship had been destroyed by some kind of energy weapon after the ship and its escorts had been captured in a type of tractor beam that had held them in place. If he'd felt well, John would have been more interested but he relied on McKay to take the details in.

When Caldwell finally finished, Rodney signed off for John with a promise they would try their best, although McKay was still pretty convinced that the Capellan's didn't know how the system operated. In fact, the more he thought about it the more he vaguely recalled the Tyrell woman saying that she was the only one with that knowledge.

Rodney turned from his retrospect to find that Sheppard had collapsed into the nearest chair. "Hey, you should go back to bed."

"Yeah, but I don't think…"

"Don't think what, Colonel?" Beckett questioned as he came into the room.

"I can spare the time." John finished.

Carson looked at him with a sour expression. "Let me be the judge of that. Ya certainly don't look too peachy this morning."

They both heard Rodney mutter, "Nothing new."

Sheppard threw Rodney a dirty look as Carson asked him. "Aye, well, what exactly is troubling ya now?"

"Throat," John whispered.

Carson said nothing as he fished into his bag and produced a flashlight and a tongue depressor. "Okay, open ya mouth and say…ah…for me."

John complied and Carson made a few tut tut sounds before feeling for swollen neck glands. Then just as Teyla entered the room with some freshly made tea, Carson pulled John's tunic collar down to reveal some truly horrific bruising ranging from true black to a lighter blue. Teyla's gasp made everyone jump and she nearly dropped the tray. Even Rodney looked shocked. "Yuck…how the hell did he get those horrible marks?"

"He's here." John muttered.

"Oh, so sorry. I was just trying to save you having to use your voice?" McKay tone dripped with sarcasm.

Carson straightened with a sigh. "Aye well, ya certainly have a nasty sore throat there." The next thing John knew, Carson stuck a thermometer in his ear and took it out a minute or so later. "No fever, which probably means it's caused by severer trauma to the neck, but I'll take a swab just to be on the safe side."

Rodney wandered over and took a cup from Teyla's tray. "You still haven't told me how he got those marks?" Rodney asked before absentmindedly taking a sip. "Yuk, is this tea?"

Teyla looked at him as if he'd gone mad. "Of course it is, Dr. McKay."

Rodney was just about to give her a comeback when Dr. Ricaud entered. "Ah…there's our hero of the day."

Everyone looked around expectantly and Rodney stuck out his chest. "Well, I do my best."

"Oh no, Dr. McKay, although we are truly grateful for your cooperation and efforts," Dr. Ricaud embellished. "No, I'm referring to Colonel Sheppard here. He has finally rid Sanjava of the dreaded Aldrich. It's only taken over two hundred years during which there have been fifty assassination attempts, seventeen near death situations with medical procedures gone wrong and all it took was one sick and wounded stranger and we are finally free."

"I think destroying the duplicates played a big role in that." John muttered.

"Yes, of course that too." He got down to John's level and pumped his hand. "Congratulations." Then taking in John's appearance, he finished. "You don't look very well?" The next thing John knew his mouth was being prized open again and all he wanted was his bed, so when the doctor had finished, he lay back, switched off and let sleep reclaim him.

-SGA-

John finally woke up what could have been days or hours later. An IV drip snaked from his arm and he tried to recall what had gone wrong this time. As his memory returned, he cautiously swallowed and was relieved to find his throat feeling much better.

He eased himself up slightly and found that he was in a different room from previously. This one was pure comfort and luxury combined, but totally unlike the room Tyrell had first had him in. Surely, he couldn't still be in the hospital area?

It must have had some form of surveillance because the pretty blond nurse suddenly arrived. "It's good to see you awake again, Colonel Sheppard. I've informed the doctor and he should be along shortly."

"How long have I been asleep? I'm I still in the hospital unit?"

"Off and on for two days but you needed it and yes, you're still in the hospital. This is the VIP room," she smiled.

John started to look around sheepishly wondering why he'd been given such a privilege, just as Beckett and McKay came into the room. "Oh my, the sleeping beauty has finally awoken up at last!" Rodney proclaimed loudly.

Carson smiled. "Aye, he's certainly been sleeping but I don't know about beauty, Rodney."

The nurse giggled. At the present time, he may not be exactly beautiful but she knew, if given the chance, he'd clean up just fine. Saying nothing, she quickly left the room not realizing that three pairs of eyes watched her go.

"Now isn't she just lovely." Beckett sighed. His fellow Atlanteans agreed with him. "Right let's get down to business. Are ya feeling better now, lad?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

Beckett looked quickly into John's mouth and said. "That's good to hear. Let's pull up a chair and fill ya in on what's been going on."

Rodney turned around. "There's only one chair in here, Carson. Does that mean we have to share?"

"Not bloody likely! Ya can sit on the bed, if the Colonel doesn't mind."

John nodded. "Just don't sit on my toes. I don't need any more injury."

"Are you implying that I'm too heavy?"

John sighed and closed his eyes but Carson came to his rescue. "Give him a break, Rodney. He's only just woken up."

Rodney felt around for the end of John's long legs and gingerly sat himself down beyond them. "Well, now that we're all comfortable, I'll start by telling you that the Daedalus has gone home."

Sheppard looked shocked. "You're kidding me! How the hell are we going to get home?"

"That my friend is easy, I've found the DHD crystals."

Carson looked flabbergasted. "Ya found them? If I recall correctly, it was Major Lorne and Ronon, you were just along for the ride, so to speak."

"Ride?" Sheppard looked confused.

"Just a figure of speech, Colonel, actually they were hidden in the secret hideaway that Lena Tyrell had in her private quarters. Nobody, and I mean nobody, knew about its existence until our team did a methodical search with scanners."

"Ah," Rodney interrupted, "that's not all we found. There were hundreds of data discs not unlike our DVD's and a hand written journal, which she kept right up until the end. In fact, the last entry was kind of interesting as it went on to describe her fantasies concerning a certain Ancient, recently acquired, and all the things she'd like to with…"

John held up a hand. "I don't want to know, McKay and where is this journal? I want it destroyed."

"Can't do that," Rodney proclaimed. "It now belongs to the newly formed Council of Capella City, which is headed by a Mr. Batas. He tells me he's met you, so you'll have to take up the matter with him."

"Yeah, I met him once, early on. And the data discs?" John asked.

McKay looked at him. "Same goes for them, we've looked at some but most of it is gibberish about her fantasies for ever lasting life and other stuff like detailed maps of the dome etc.."

Rodney finished with that because there was no way he was telling John about the truly repugnant area Dr. Ricaud had shown them. Along with the very dead duplicates of Tyrell and Aldrich had been several more copies of Sheppard, equally as dead and already in a state of decay. It was a sight that Rodney or Carson won't be forgetting for a long time to come. Ricaud had promised to cremate the remains as soon as possible and had reassured them, unnecessarily, that the Sheppard in the hospital was the real one.

Then he had shown them the creation room with its acceleration vats and other gruesome paraphernalia, which enabled a living being to be reproduced overnight. Both men had been grateful to learn that John had been unconscious throughout the procedure. Ricaud had promised to destroy that equipment at the earliest possible date before it could fall into the wrong hands again, although the doctors responsible for the duplication had all died in the uprising.

John had nearly nodded off again when he realized that Rodney had stopped talking to him. He was just about to give into sleep when a sudden thought struck him. Drowsily he asked, "Wait a minute. What about Caldwell's request to learn about the weapon system?"

"Oh, that proved to be a dead end at the moment. It seems Dr. Tyrell was right and these people don't know much about it. The system was put in place thousands of years ago and it has never failed them. It seems that it is powered by something more than those generators we've seen and I'm speculating that it's a ZPM but I could be wrong." Rodney answered him.

"Are you trying to tell me that they will have to rely on something they don't know anything about?

"Yep, that's about it in a nutshell."

"Unbelievable," John muttered as he finally nodded off.

"Although, their scientists are going to do their utmost to understand and study the…." Rodney's monologue suddenly trailed off when he noticed that he was talking to thin air. Turning to Carson, he complained. "Do you see that, he's off in never-never land again."

"Give the man a break, Rodney, he's had a hard time, and the meds he's on are pretty strong. If we're going to get him fit enough to go home then let him have his beauty sleep." Carson whispered as they left the room.

Tbc

Thanks for your kind reviews and please keep them coming. I love receiving them.


	15. Power to the People

Part 15 - Power to the People

It had been nearly five weeks since he'd last seen Atlantis and her people but John was finally feeling strong enough to leave Sanjava and head for home. In the last day or so, he felt more like himself than he had in weeks. He'd eaten well and his stamina had improve so much that he no longer required the hoverchair.

Stepping out of the shower, he quickly dried himself off before donning his boxers and turning to the mirror to shave off his annoying stubble using an electric shaver borrowed from Major Lorne. The face that stared back at him was looking considerably better than it had a week ago. Gone were the dark shadows under his eyes and his complexion showed a healthy shade of pink.

His mind drifted to Atlantis as he removed the stubborn stubble. An overwhelming sense of excitement suddenly began to flood his brain, and with it a sense of joy at the prospect of seeing the beautiful city again and his other friends and collogues, especially Elizabeth. This time, nothing was going to get in the way of his returning home and he started to hum as he combed his hair, applied the Capellan equivalent of styling gel, and ruffled his hair up again so it stood up spiky in places. Not quite the same as the good old stuff from Earth but it would do.

Stilling happily humming, he entered his room to dress in the clothes the staff had found him for the homeward journey. They reminded him a little of the tunics he'd worn on board the Aurora and thankfully, they were totally different from the ones Tyrell had him dressed in.

He was just about to pack up his few meager possessions when Rodney came bursting into the room without knocking. "Hey, your Ancientness, are you ready to go… Oh my God what's that noise?"

John abruptly stopped humming and looked offended. "What do you mean, noise?"

"That tuneless noise coming out of your mouth."

"It wasn't tuneless, Rodney. You know what your trouble is, you're tone deaf."

"No I'm not. I think you should…" But before Rodney could say anymore, John shoved the last item into the backpack he'd been given and started to walk out of the room. "Come on, Rodney, let's go say our goodbyes and get the hell out of here."

A slow smile spread across Rodney's face as he watched John lightly step out of the room. It sure was good to see his friend back to his old self and to be finally going home .

Carson, Ronon, and Teyla were all waiting for them by the nurses' station and after a lot of thanks, good-byes and the a few odd kisses mainly from Carson to the nursing staff the Atlanteans walked off the join the others waiting for them in the main entry hall.

The medical staff and one nurse in particular watched them depart with a twinge of sadness. _Yes, _she thought as she watched him go. _He certainly cleaned up nicely. _

Arriving in the main hall, Lorne and the marines stood ready as more good-byes were exchanged between Sheppard, his team, and the newly formed Council. A promise was made to come back sometime to see how the people of Capella were coping and if they learnt anything about the defense system. In return, the Councilors offered them a safe haven should they ever become overrun by Wraith. John thanked them and wished them well. However, John was leaving with one regret and that was that he'd failed to convince Councilor Batas to destroy the last journal entries, but the man had promised they would stay confidential.

Goodbyes over, Sheppard gathered his people up with a look and everyone left Sanjava to start the long trek back to the gate.

-SGA-

An hour later, John was beginning to wish he'd taken up Tamar's offer of a ride to the gate as his legs began to tire and fatigue hit him. He would have accepted but Aldrich's people had gutted the air cars during the uprising leaving only one operational at the present time. That would have meant leaving Major Lorne and some of the marines still having to trek through the broken down city, and all the dangers that may have to offer. John had stated we all go together, safety in numbers and all that.

Finally, they reached the outskirts of the city and were about to encounter the suburbs and the dusty cracked road, an area familiar to Sheppard's gate team. Three marines had taken forward position, six others on flank, leaving Sgt. Macklin, Lorne, Teyla, and Ronon to cover their six, protecting the doctors and the Colonel like the precious cargo that they were. It slightly annoyed John but he saw the wisdom, as he didn't know how good he'd be if it came down to a fight.

For the first twenty minutes or so, they encountered no one. Not a hint life showed, if it still existed in this part of the city. John began to think they were in the clear as the broken down houses began to thin out and the countryside spread out ahead of them.

However, as if some deity wanted to throw them a last test, a small group of people suddenly appeared out of nowhere and made to step in front of them blocking their way.

The marines immediately sprang into action, P90's and other weapons at the ready as they prepared to fight.

"Hold your fire!" Sheppard ordered as he stepped forward taking in the fact that most of the group appeared to be unarmed. "What do you want?" he asked them.

A lone woman stepped forward dressed in a ragged tunic top and pants that had certainly seen better days. Her hair hung lank, unkempt and she opened her mouth to show a row of discolored and broken teeth. "Is it true, mister, Tyrell and her henchmen are dead?"

Sheppard moved a little closer well aware of Ronon's shadow directly behind him. "Yes, it's true. She and Aldrich are gone and a Council has been formed intent on restoring equality for all the citizens of Capella. I'm sure if you approach them they will help you…"

John never had a chance to finish as another group of rough looking men appeared as if out of nowhere, causing everyone to go back on full alert. "Don't listen to him you stupid old bitch!" One of the men called out and then John recognized him as one of their previous attackers from weeks ago. Ronon stiffened by his side, meaning he'd recognized the man too.

However, in reply the woman turned an angry face on the man and screamed. "This is none of your business, Breton! We've had enough of scratching a living and begging to the likes of you and your kind." She turned back to Sheppard. "Would they really help us, mister?"

John looked at her earnestly. "I'm positive."

Breton turned angrily towards Sheppard. "It's all fucking lies 'cause how the hell do you know, mister?"

John poked his finger towards the brutes face. "I should know. I've just spent the last five goddamn weeks stuck in Sanjava. I witnessed Tyrell's death, first hand and the destruction of her duplicates. I was there for the upraising, and I'm the one who killed Aldrich. So, if you've got an ounce of brain in that empty head of yours, you'd realize that a better life could be had if you go with these people and asked for help. But that's up to you because all I want to do is go back home with my people, so get the shit out of my way if you don't want to die today."

The woman started to snigger at John's remarks. "He ain't got no brain, Mister."

Furious, Breton turned back towards to the woman and went to raise his hand to strike her but Ronon pushed him away. "You'd better not do that," he growled.

John could see that the situation was getting out of hand but as he told the idiot, all he wanted to do was go home, so he shouted. "Look, you and your gang can go crawl back into the rubble for all I care but leave these people alone. If they want a better future then that's up to them."

Breton seemed to consider his words, for a moment John truly thought that he would retreat but unfortunately, at that very moment Sanjava's only air car came into view, and spooked the already twitchy gang. Immediately, all hell broke loose as Breton's gang started to opened fire on the Atlanteans, and the woman and her group.

As people scattered in every direction, John brought up his P90 and got off a couple of shots as he grabbed the woman and dived for what little shelter there was a few meters away. He had to trust his men to ensure that the others were protected and his profound worry for Rodney and Carson was unfounded as he saw both men giving as good as they got from behind their shelter of a broken down piece of masonry. The rest of his group had also found cover and thankfully, none of the bodies lying on the road wore Atlantis clothing.

The air car had already landed several hundred meters away reminding Sheppard of the previous time as six armed and uniformed security guards alighted and opened fire on Breton's men. The ensuing battle didn't take long as the cowards, realizing that they were truly outnumbered, ran away.

Sheppard quickly got up to prevent the security forces from firing on the innocent people. "It's okay," he shouted. "These folks are unarmed and have asked for your help."

"Are you sure, Colonel Sheppard?" called the distinctive voice of Officer Tamar as he cautiously approached John's position.

"Yeah, I'm pretty positive," replied John. Turning towards the woman who was still crouching behind the boulder she'd found for shelter, he called to her "Its okay, you can get up now."

John watched her as she started to rise but then like a flash in the corner of his eye, John caught sight of Breton standing up from behind an old wall, brandishing a wicked looking knife aimed right for the women's unprotected back. Without a second thought, Sheppard pushed the woman back down and felt a thud and sharp pain as the knife sliced into his arm. Directly above him, the roar of gunfire spelt the end of Breton's life.

In the ensuing silence, John slowly rose to inspect his arm as the woman shakily stood up beside him. Dusting off her shabby clothes, she looked at Sheppard with concern. "Are ye alright, mister?" When John nodded, she continued. "I be thanking ye for saving me from me husband, mister."

Sheppard looked at her in surprise. "Your husband?"

"Believe me, t'was many moons ago. I left him 'cause the bastard turned wicked. Started to beat me real bad he did, steal all he could he did, and he'd kill anyone who stood in his way."

John winced at her bad grammar and was just about to ask more when a slightly out of breath Carson pulled up beside him. "I don't bloody believe it, you've done it again."

"Ah…come on, doc, it's just a nick."

Carson looked at him with a critical eye. "All right then, Dr. Sheppard, if ya say so but by the looks of it, I'd say it nicked a blood vessel."

Removing his backpack, Carson pulled out a medical kit containing all that he had left, which wasn't a lot as most of his other equipment had been either left for the staff in back in Sanjava or used up on his most persistent patient. As Carson went about examining John's arm, he heard the woman mutter. "He did save me life, mister."

"That's Dr. Beckett and you would be?"

"Caddy Breton but I don't go by the last name anymore." She spat towards where her husband's body lay riddled with bullets. Then a thought seemed to hit her and she turned back to smile seductively at John. "I'm a widow woman now are ye single, mister handsome one?"

Sheppard swallowed hard and was just about to answer when Teyla came to his rescue. "No he is not, good lady," she lied.

The woman looked sad and highly disappointed as she assumed Teyla to be John's wife. Not giving up however, she turned her attention to Carson and Sheppard quickly came to his rescue. "He's not single either. He has a lovely lady waiting for him back home."

By this time, everyone had overheard the woman and suddenly all the remaining men especially Rodney and Ronon seem to shrink as they all went about looking for distractions elsewhere.

The woman watched them with interest so Carson took the opportunity to pull John gently aside to continue his examination. Carefully removing the knife, he applied a pressure pad onto the wound before securing a tourniquet around John's upper arm. "Well that will have to do until we can get ya home and the quicker the better if ya ask me before anything else can go wrong or that woman finds herself an unwilling husband."

Officer Tamar smiled as he overheard him. "We could take you back to Sanjava, Colonel?"

John held up his good arm. "No offense, Tamar, but we've come so far and I'd really like to sleep in my own bed tonight."

"Of course, I fully understand. Why don't we take you, the good doctor, and a few others to the gate in the air car? Our forces will see to it that the rest of your people get there safely on foot."

"And these people?" John indicated Caddy Breton and her followers. "What will happen to them?"

"I can assure you, they will be taken to Sanjava, given food, new clothing, and a place to live. In return, they can help us rebuild Capella City to its former glory."

Caddy spoke up and gave him a predatory grin. "Sounds fair to me, mister," The others all nodded in agreement. "But there are more like us out there," she added with a wink.

Tamar swallowed hard and looked at the group. "Anyone who likes to join us is more than welcome but they must abide by the laws."

Once again, everyone nodded in agreement.

-SGA-

Half an hour later, the air car finally landed in front of the DHD and Rodney went about reinstalling the control crystals as everyone said their final good-byes.

It all felt strange to John, the fact that he was finally stepping through the gate. A sense of deja-vu washed over him as he prepared to go home. When Rodney ultimately sent his IDC and got a green light, John took a tentative step and followed him through hoping they would welcome him back.

TBC

_Thanks again for the reviews. Hope you like this chapter as it's not so easy to write with temperatures of 30+ outside and no air con. There's one more to go and I hope to post that sometime over the weekend if I don't melt in the meantime. _


	16. Home Sweet Home

Part 16 Home Sweet Home

Elizabeth stood with her arms wrapped around her chest in nervous anticipation as first Teyla and Ronon emerged followed by Carson, Rodney, and finally John came through into the gateroom. Regardless of the room being full of technicians and the like, she rushed forward and soaked-up the sight of the man she'd thought gone forever. She wanted to hug him as tears welled in her eyes but hesitated seeing his wounded arm. Instead, she reached out, took his hand, and held it possessively as she attempted to find her voice. "Welcome home, John," she managed to choke out, not letting go of his hand.

John did not attempt to pull away as he smiled at her warmly. She noted that there was a slight unaccustomed dampness to his expressive eyes as he spoke. "Believe me it's good to be home. I'm so sorry the Tyrell woman put you through so much."

Elizabeth knew what he meant but typical John, always putting others before himself. "You're the one to go through hell," she whispered. "I'm just glad it turned out alright in the end. At least, I think it's alright, what happened to your arm?" she asked as she moved her hand up to inspect his wound arm.

"The usual story," Carson piped up as he joined them. "Come on, Colonel," he requested, pointing towards the waiting gurney. "It's time to go to my domain. Oh and Elizabeth, ya'll be hearing all about it when we make our reports but they'll have to wait while I patch up -Mister can't- stay-out-of-trouble-for-five-minutes - here."

Elizabeth chuckled as Sheppard allowed the doctor to guide him over to the gurney. "Okay, Carson, I'll go with you for now," she heard him mutter, "but I wasn't kidding when I said I wanted to sleep in my own bed tonight."

Carson's reply was quite clear. "Aye, I'm sure ya weren't but we'll 'ave to see about that." Saying no more, Carson ushered John and his team out of the gateroom.

-SGA-

Later, when darkness fell over the beautiful city and nighttime approached, Elizabeth quietly made her way to John's quarters. His latest wound had thankfully proven to be superficial, so Beckett had released John on the understanding that he would spend the next week or so recuperating from his ordeal on Capella. Whether John would abide by Beckett's orders or not was another matter. Although, Elizabeth promised herself that she would do her utmost to make sure that he did.

Arriving at his quarters, she requested entry and waited until John called her in. She hadn't been here since the dreadful bug episode, but things were still as she remembered them, skateboard, surfboard, and guitar propped in various places, the Johnny Cash poster over on the far wall and on the night stand the curious picture of John when he was a child with an older man.

As for the man himself, he sat quietly dressed in black T-shirt and BDU pants on the edge of his bed much the way he had all those months ago but this time, John faced her without shame and smiled. "So what's up?"

Elizabeth came out of her scrutiny and she sat herself down opposite him. Looking into his eyes, she cleared her throat. "It was so hard, John, seeing your duplicate die like that was just…" but she couldn't say anymore as her voice broke.

John gently reached out for her hand and squeezed it reassuringly. "Yeah, I can imagine. Rodney and the others told me a little about what went down. I'm just glad you realized it wasn't me or I could have been stuck on Capella for good."

_Or dead_, Elizabeth thought, as she'd already read Carson's initial report about John taking three bullets. She came out of her retrospect and looked directly into his eyes. "I should have known it wasn't you, straight-away."

"How's that?"

For a second Elizabeth looked off into the distance before returning her gaze to his. "When I looked at him, his eyes were soulless, so empty, and so unlike yours. It was…"

John squeezed her hand again. "Yeah, I know, Dr. Ricaud said a similar thing. He reckoned the soul couldn't be duplicated no matter how hard they tried and that's why things went the way they did with Tyrell and especially Aldrich."

For an awkward minute, they looked at each other before Elizabeth broke the tension to glance towards the picture on John's side table. A cold shiver passed through her again, at the memory of John's duplicate lying so still, so dead. She never wanted to tell his next of kid that he had truly died and prayed that the day would never come. On his file was no mention of a family, so naturally she was curious about the man in the picture. "Is that a picture of you and your dad?" she asked.

John's throaty laugh echoed around the room. "Heck no," he mumbled. He looked down at his hands, but failed to say any more. There was no way he could explain to Elizabeth that the man in the picture did more to encourage and guide John into the person he was today than his own, military minded and totally unloving authoritarian father. His mentor was a man that John had greatly admired and loved but lost to him far too early. He vaguely wondered if that man would be proud of him today if he were still alive. A small smile spread across John's handsome face, as he believed that he would have been.

Elizabeth sat quietly and sighed as it looked like she wouldn't be getting anything more out of him tonight. _One day,_ she thought. _One day, John and I'll find out the truth._

He brought her out of her brooding when he suddenly asked. "So what's next on the agenda?"

She looked at him slightly puzzled. "Nothing for you until Beckett signs you back to full duty."

"Yeah, I know that. I did kind of promise him didn't I, but that doesn't mean I can't stay in the loop about things."

Elizabeth looked at him deciding what to say next. "I know you like to be on the ball, John, but things are fairly quiet at the moment. So, I want you to fully heal and enjoy some down time. Maybe a trip to the mainland for a few days would be a good idea?"

John looked thoughtful for a moment as his eyes drifted towards his surfboard. "Yeah, I think you're right. I haven't had much of a chance to use that board since having it brought out here, so maybe a day or two by the sea would be nice."

Pleased with her victory, Elizabeth said. "That's good. Maybe you could get Rodney, Teyla, and Ronon to take a break with you?"

Once again, John looked thoughtful. "Okay, but what about you?"

"What about me?"

John looked at her drawn and tired face knowing that he had caused some of her problems. "Don't you need a break too, Elizabeth? When was the last time you took a day off?"

She hesitated for a moment before surprising him by saying. "You're right. I do need some R & R. I'll tell you what; I'll arrange the whole trip for us as long as you promise to do as Beckett orders."

John gave her one of his gorgeous smiles. "It's a deal."

Taking his hand, she looked earnestly into his eyes once more for a second or two before whispering. "It's just so good to have you back safe and sound, John," Then getting up quickly before she could lose herself and do something they both might regret, she wished him goodnight and left the room.

John watched her go with a warm feeling before settling onto his bed and soaking up the sounds and sights that filled his room. _Yes, indeed, it sure_ _was good to be back_, he mused.

-SGA-

Carson Beckett still had a very unpleasant task to perform, one that he'd been putting off for days now. However, he could no longer ignore the need to dispose of John's duplicate. He could have assigned to task to others but he felt that the responsibility fell to him. So, as he carefully removed the duplicate with the help of an assistant, he let his mind drift to happier thoughts like the short holiday Elizabeth had arranged for them in a couple of days time.

At first, Carson had refused stating that he had far too much to do after his long absence. However, Elizabeth had insisted, telling him that he was in need of a break as much as they were. Then Carson had found out that John was planning to teach Rodney how to surf and all of a sudden, he changed his mind thinking that Rodney and surfboards probably wouldn't mix and that his services were maybe required.

Carson let his mind drift back to the present as he lowered the duplicate into the incinerator. Saying a quiet pray for the soulless being, he muttered. "I hope I never have to do this to the real John Sheppard." The assistant nodded as he closed the incinerator hatch, finally putting a closure to the whole dreadful episode.

Epilogue

The surf broke again sending Rodney McKay headlong into the churning water. He surfaced with an indignant splutter, spitting salt water out of his mouth. "Burr…..that's it, I'm not doing that again!"

"Ah come on, Rodney, you've only been at it forty minutes or so!" shouted John from the shoreline.

"No, no, I mean it. I'm just not cut out to be a surfer dude."

Elizabeth heard his remark and nearly sputtered on her drink trying to picture Rodney as your average sun kissed beach boy. The image just wouldn't come to mind.

Now John was another matter. The few days that they'd been here had left her military commander nicely tanned and glowing with renewed health. He seemed more relaxed than at any time that she could remember. He had shown them just how good he was at surfing as he rode the waves with an ease that made it look like child's play, even though he claimed to be out of practice.

Yesterday, he had instructed Ronon in the art of surfing and surprisingly the Satedan had taken to it remarkably well. Carson had flatly refused and was currently sitting under the shade of a nearby tree drinking ice tea and thoroughly enjoying his rest.

Elizabeth looked up from her thoughts just as Rodney waded out of the sea and handed John his surfboard. "That's it, I'll finally concede that you can do something better than me," he announced.

"Ah, come on, Rodney, there are a few other things I'm better at."

"Maybe shooting, but that's about it."

John looked towards the blue sky. "What about flying?"

"I'm getting there."

John gave him a pained expression. "Math."

"No way!"

A smile spread across John's face. He was going to say seducing ascended women but seeing Elizabeth and Teyla close by he thought he'd better not go there, so he suggested. "Getting into trouble."

Rodney nodded. "Yep, you've got that down to a fine art. The only thing is, most times you're in trouble so am I, but I think you've got me on that one lately."

John suddenly looked serious, "Yeah, sorry about that. I'll try to be more careful in the future but trouble is my middle name, it always has been."

Elizabeth intervened when she stood up and went over to them. "I wish it wasn't, John."

"Yeah, I know but it sure makes life kind of interesting and if I'm not willing to take up the challenge then I might as well crawl into a box and have them ship me back to Earth."

Elizabeth nodded and looked at Rodney as he slowly acknowledged John's point of view. They were all in this together and as a team, they would overcome whatever obstacles were thrown at them. Elizabeth reached out and squeezed his hand. "As long as you keep coming back to us, John, and that goes for everyone else too."

Wanting to lighten the mood, John suddenly suggested. "We haven't got many hours left before we're due to go back, so what about a game of volley ball?" Ronon overheard him and nodded his head, enthused at the idea of playing the game that Sheppard had taught him on the first day. Seeing his willingness, John called. "Okay, why don't you set it up, Ronon and we'll be with you in a minute."

As the former runner moved off with Teyla to secure the net, John turned back to Elizabeth noting that Rodney had mysteriouslyvanished at the mention of such a strenuous game. "Are you okay for a game?" he asked her.

Elizabeth smiled. "Sure, Teyla and I will beat the pants off you and Ronon."

John laughed. "Not literally I hope." Elizabeth giggled, looking years younger and making John thoughtful. "Glad you came now?"

"Yes, it's done me the world of good. Thank you for suggesting it."

John's face broke out with a wonderful beam as he smiled warmly at her. "You're welcome and it's been fantastic. What do you say if we try to do this more often?"

"I would say that's another of your brilliant ideas, Colonel Sheppard." Then quickly moving away from him, she turned and called out. "Come on, let's not waste what time we have left, I've still got to beat the pants off you."

John laughed again and shouted as he ran off to catch her up, "Let's see you try!"

The End

Well that's it folks. I hope you enjoyed this and thanks again for all your wonderful reviews.


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